+How Wasteful of Food Are You?
Worst January for Pockets
This January, Nigerians paid the highest prices for goods and services compared to other January months in 16 years, the NBS report shows.
This is reflected in the unprecedented high cost of living nationwide, making it almost difficult for an average Nigerian to afford basic essentials.
This January, the inflation rate reached an all-time high of 29.9% from 14% in January 2008.
The government’s inability to tame the rising cost of living in 16 years has led to protests in various parts of the country with citizens expressing their struggle amidst increased food prices.
Aside from being the worst January for pockets, the headline inflation peaked at 29.9% year on year in January 2024. This is the highest in 12 months.
Citizens are responding to the unrelenting price hike in different ways.
Earlier this month, residents of Kano had taken to the streets to express displeasure about the high costs of food and other items, demanding relief from the government. Similarly, protests erupted in Niger State and Ibadan in Oyo State over the same situation.
The question is, what can we each do more than just protest when the federal and state governments fail to control the rising prices?
Beginning with controlling food prices, individuals can consider evaluating their purchasing habits among other suggestions prior to this.
“You can look into buying cheaper food items that still allow you to consume all recommended food groups or reducing your expenses on non-recommended foods, such as salty snacks and sugary items.
“Additionally, consider changing the market where you buy your food, as it may help you achieve lower costs than what they paid in 2008.
Federal Government releases grains to citizens
To address the rising cost of food, President Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to release and distribute about 42,000 metric tonnes of maize, millet, and other commodities to the needy.
About 82.9 million Nigerians are needy, living below $1.90 per day. They now have to pay 10 times to feed compared to what they paid in 2008.
However, there are concerns that the food items might get diverted and not reach targeted Nigerians.
There are also doubts about the federal government’s ability to accurately identify the needy due to the lack of comprehensive data on Nigeria’s population composition. Even though the federal government said they have met with NEMA and DSS to give them the “index”.
How Wasteful of Food Are You?
Regrettably, amidst the high cost of living and escalating food prices, each Nigerian wastes 189 Kg of food at home annually. This is the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
While the Food Waste Index reveals that households contribute the largest amount of food waste globally, Nigeria is notorious for producing the largest household food waste in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Households in the country altogether wasted 38 million tonnes of food from household cooking in 2021.