By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Kemi Adebayo, a house wife stood in front a food stuff seller’s shop in Iyana –Ipaja market in Lagos State on Saturday, 25 January , 2025.
Adebayo, a mother of three, was in the market to buy rice, beans and garri.
To her surprise, her budget of N30, 000 for the purchase of these items could not cover all of them.
She lamented to thegazellenews.com that the prices of the food items are beyond her reach. “You can see that the amount cannot even buy a quarter of all these items because they are too expensive. What I need to do now is just to buy fractions of these items and go back home. I don’t know how long are we going to survive with this high cost of foodstuffs in the markets,” she said.
Prices of food items have gone up and it has never stopped since last year. It continues to rise and rise. We cannot stand anymore,” said the 43-year-old mother who said she earns around N60,000 monthly from an insurance company.
Few kilometers away from Iyana –Ipaja, this time around at Egbeda Market, Mrs Janet Okechukwu stood in front of a dozen of mothers, listing basic foods: eggs, vegetables and beans; among others they need to keep their children healthy and nourished
Her pitch was interjected . For the other mothers listening, even those essentials are increasingly beyond their reach. “You see madam, we cannot even afford it, everything is so expensive, there is no money to buy all that,. The money our husbands managed to give us and the money we added to it are also not enough to do the buying. Prices of food items are going higher and higher every day. We don’t know what to do again,” they said.
One young mother with a child cradled in her arms, added “We don’t how long this rising cost of food items will come down. We cannot buy foods that will help our children to grow healthy. Most of us have resulted to buying food that don’t have nutritional values, we go for cheaper items and we are paying the price health wise , our children are no longer healthy again. Most of our children today are malnourished. This is as a result of the rising cost of food items”.
She may be right
Nutritional experts are of the view that a rising cost of foodstuffs significantly impacts families by forcing them to reduce food consumption, potentially leading to malnutrition, particularly among vulnerable groups like children, as they are often forced to choose cheaper, less nutritious options, while also putting a strain on household budgets and increasing the risk of food insecurity, especially for low-income families; this can lead to increased poverty and potential social unrest.
According to them, higher prices for fish, eggs, beef, rice, and cooking oil are closely linked to increase stunting in children.
They are also of the view that rising prices for maize and garri are associated with higher rates of waste we are witnessing now. Similarly, an increase in the cost of milk, maize, and rice also leads to more cases of underweight children.
“Every day, during consultation, there are five or seven children that suffer from malnutrition,” said Femi Amimashaun, head of the nutrition department at a hospital in Ikotun area of Lagos State. “I bet in a few months or a year, more children will be malnourished.”
TheGazelleNews’Special Report: Rising Cost Of Food; Its Health Effects On Families
By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Kemi Adebayo, a house wife stood in front a food stuff seller’s shop in Iyana –Ipaja market in Lagos State on Saturday, 25 January , 2025.
Adebayo, a mother of three, was in the market to buy rice, beans and garri.
To her surprise, her budget of N30, 000 for the purchase of these items could not cover all of them.
She lamented to thegazellenews.com that the prices of the food items are beyond her reach. “You can see that the amount cannot even buy a quarter of all these items because they are too expensive. What I need to do now is just to buy fractions of these items and go back home. I don’t know how long are we going to survive with this high cost of foodstuffs in the markets,” she said.
Prices of food items have gone up and it has never stopped since last year. It continues to rise and rise. We cannot stand anymore,” said the 43-year-old mother who said she earns around N60,000 monthly from an insurance company.
Few kilometers away from Iyana –Ipaja, this time around at Egbeda Market, Mrs Janet Okechukwu stood in front of a dozen of mothers, listing basic foods: eggs, vegetables and beans; among others they need to keep their children healthy and nourished
Her pitch was interjected . For the other mothers listening, even those essentials are increasingly beyond their reach. “You see madam, we cannot even afford it, everything is so expensive, there is no money to buy all that,. The money our husbands managed to give us and the money we added to it are also not enough to do the buying. Prices of food items are going higher and higher every day. We don’t know what to do again,” they said.
One young mother with a child cradled in her arms, added “We don’t how long this rising cost of food items will come down. We cannot buy foods that will help our children to grow healthy. Most of us have resulted to buying food that don’t have nutritional values, we go for cheaper items and we are paying the price health wise , our children are no longer healthy again. Most of our children today are malnourished. This is as a result of the rising cost of food items”.
She may be right
Nutritional experts are of the view that a rising cost of foodstuffs significantly impacts families by forcing them to reduce food consumption, potentially leading to malnutrition, particularly among vulnerable groups like children, as they are often forced to choose cheaper, less nutritious options, while also putting a strain on household budgets and increasing the risk of food insecurity, especially for low-income families; this can lead to increased poverty and potential social unrest.
According to them, higher prices for fish, eggs, beef, rice, and cooking oil are closely linked to increase stunting in children.
They are also of the view that rising prices for maize and garri are associated with higher rates of waste we are witnessing now. Similarly, an increase in the cost of milk, maize, and rice also leads to more cases of underweight children.
“Every day, during consultation, there are five or seven children that suffer from malnutrition,” said Femi Amimashaun, head of the nutrition department at a hospital in Ikotun area of Lagos State. “I bet in a few months or a year, more children will be malnourished.”
For many people, feeding the family has become a daily challenge as a result of skyrocketing prices of food items
A random survey showed that early last year, a paint of egusi was N1,500, today, it goes for N6,500. A paint of beans is now N6,000; a Derica cup of rice is now N1,500 depending on the area of purchase and the quality. Garri, a paint bucket is now N3,000 to N4,000, a kilo of frozen chicken is N7,000 as opposed to N 2, 500 which was sold last year, and a paint of crayfish now goes for N6,000.
A medium-sized sliced bread, which was sold for N750 last year, now sells for N1,700. A piece of egg now sells N300. A crate of eggs now sells for N8, 000for large sizes as against N2,800 sold last year.
At a market in Shagari Estate in Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos state, Johnson Adedayo, who sells provisions, said that the price of 70g of instant noodles (Indomitable) rose from N3,000 sold early last year to N9, 000, while 120g Indomie noodles (Superpack) now goes as high as N12,300 as against N4,500 it was previously sold some years back.
At Igando Market in Lagos State, the story was the same as sellers of food items lamented a sharp drop in sales in recent times. One market woman said many of the customers end up quarrelling with market women over arguments about the prevailing prices of commodities. Buyers complained that prices of essential food items are getting beyond reach these days.
A man named Emmanuel Akinsanya said he came to the market on Monday to buy some chickens to mark his daughter’s birthday but regretted that the prices were prohibitive and that he had to settle down for frozen fish since a small chicken was sold for around N20,000
This signalled a consistent rise in headline and food inflation in the country, spurred by energy costs, logistics challenges, and insecurity. In Q1 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made good its intention to target inflation by hiking the monetary policy rate twice (400bps in February 2024 and 200bps in March 2024 ), which led to an increase from 18.75% to 24.75%.
As expected, reactions to the spike in food prices vary. Although food price increases have been a common phenomenon for a long time, market watchers said last year’s devaluation of the naira was responsible for the current scenario.
They believe that the current challenge was caused because of the smuggling of food items from Nigeria to the neighbouring countries by farmers and market women who decided to cash in on the fate of the naira.
An economist, Akintayo Babafemi, told thegazellenews.com that Nigerians are currently spending 60 to 70 percent of their income on food items.
“You can bet that today on average people spend more than 60 percent, maybe around 70 or 80 percent of their income on food When people spend that much amount on food they cannot do nothing else like paying for a rent, health care, education.”
Almost two out of three Nigerian households are going hungry, with families skipping meals as they cannot afford enough food, according to a report by the country’s statistics agency.
The number of households that reported not having enough food to eat because of lack of money doubled to 62.4% in 2023 from 37% in 2019, according to the report, published last year on the website of the National Bureau of Statistics.
“Furthermore, 12.3% reported that at least one person in the household went without eating for a whole day,” the report said, underlining the impact of food inflation that peaked at a near-three-decade high 41% in June. About 21% of households rely on help from friends or relatives, it said.
Already, poor nutrition is leading to physical effects such as stunted growth, with a quarter of boys and girls regarded as underweight for their age, up from 19% four years ago.
Food prices are being stoked by reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, with the annual inflation rate rising to 33.9% in October. Since coming into office in May 2023, Tinubu has removed currency restrictions, resulting in a 72% depreciation of the naira. He has also eliminated subsidies on fuel and electricity, leading to prices more than doubling.
For many people, feeding the family has become a daily challenge as a result of skyrocketing prices of food items
A random survey showed that early last year, a paint of egusi was N1,500, today, it goes for N6,500. A paint of beans is now N6,000; a Derica cup of rice is now N1,500 depending on the area of purchase and the quality. Garri, a paint bucket is now N3,000 to N4,000, a kilo of frozen chicken is N7,000 as opposed to N 2, 500 which was sold last year, and a paint of crayfish now goes for N6,000.
A medium-sized sliced bread, which was sold for N750 last year, now sells for N1,700. A piece of egg now sells N300. A crate of eggs now sells for N8, 000for large sizes as against N2,800 sold last year.
At a market in Shagari Estate in Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos state, Johnson Adedayo, who sells provisions, said that the price of 70g of instant noodles (Indomitable) rose from N3,000 sold early last year to N9, 000, while 120g Indomie noodles (Superpack) now goes as high as N12,300 as against N4,500 it was previously sold some years back.
At Igando Market in Lagos State, the story was the same as sellers of food items lamented a sharp drop in sales in recent times. One market woman said many of the customers end up quarrelling with market women over arguments about the prevailing prices of commodities. Buyers complained that prices of essential food items are getting beyond reach these days.
A man named Emmanuel Akinsanya said he came to the market on Monday to buy some chickens to mark his daughter’s birthday but regretted that the prices were prohibitive and that he had to settle down for frozen fish since a small chicken was sold for around N20,000
This signalled a consistent rise in headline and food inflation in the country, spurred by energy costs, logistics challenges, and insecurity. In Q1 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made good its intention to target inflation by hiking the monetary policy rate twice (400bps in February 2024 and 200bps in March 2024 ), which led to an increase from 18.75% to 24.75%.
As expected, reactions to the spike in food prices vary. Although food price increases have been a common phenomenon for a long time, market watchers said last year’s devaluation of the naira was responsible for the current scenario.
They believe that the current challenge was caused because of the smuggling of food items from Nigeria to the neighbouring countries by farmers and market women who decided to cash in on the fate of the naira.
An economist, Akintayo Babafemi, told thegazellenews.com that Nigerians are currently spending 60 to 70 percent of their income on food items.
“You can bet that today on average people spend more than 60 percent, maybe around 70 or 80 percent of their income on food When people spend that much amount on food they cannot do nothing else like paying for a rent, health care, education.”
Almost two out of three Nigerian households are going hungry, with families skipping meals as they cannot afford enough food, according to a report by the country’s statistics agency.
The number of households that reported not having enough food to eat because of lack of money doubled to 62.4% in 2023 from 37% in 2019, according to the report, published last year on the website of the National Bureau of Statistics.
“Furthermore, 12.3% reported that at least one person in the household went without eating for a whole day,” the report said, underlining the impact of food inflation that peaked at a near-three-decade high 41% in June. About 21% of households rely on help from friends or relatives, it said.
Already, poor nutrition is leading to physical effects such as stunted growth, with a quarter of boys and girls regarded as underweight for their age, up from 19% four years ago.
Food prices are being stoked by reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, with the annual inflation rate rising to 33.9% in October. Since coming into office in May 2023, Tinubu has removed currency restrictions, resulting in a 72% depreciation of the naira. He has also eliminated subsidies on fuel and electricity, leading to prices more than doubling.
