Security Beyond Headlines: How Insecurity is Undermining Nigeria’s Food Systems and Everyday Life

In the fertile fields of Benue State — once proudly dubbed Nigeria’s “food basket” — insecurity has become more than a headline. It is a lived reality that ripples through farms, markets, classrooms and clinics, leaving deep scars on the very fabric of rural life.

For decades, smallholder farmers have fed their communities with yams, maize, soybeans and cassava. Yet violence and conflict have steadily eroded that foundation. Academic studies show that rising insecurity — particularly clashes between herders and farmers, banditry and armed attacks — has forced farmers off their land, reduced crop and livestock output and weakened food systems across large swathes of the Middle Belt.

“We used to plant early and look forward to harvest,” says one farmer in Benue’s Guma local government area. “Now we fear going to the farm. Some days, there simply isn’t anyone there.” His experience echoes recent research which found that families abandoned farmlands and lost market access because of fear, displacement and blocked roads. Across surveyed households, nearly seven in ten said insecurity significantly disrupted their ability to grow or sell crops.

Fields to Markets: A Broken Chain

Food security is not only about growing crops — it’s about moving them from farms into markets and onto plates. But insecurity shatters that chain.

Farmers report that blocked roads — whether from fear of attack or actual banditry — mean produce can’t reach major markets. Local studies point to displaced households missing out on vital market days and struggling to sell perishable goods before they spoil.

The knock-on effect is painfully visible in price hikes at markets up and down the country. With fewer goods arriving from rural areas, staples have become more expensive — a blow to ordinary households already stretched by inflation.

Schools and Clinics: Innocence Disrupted

Insecurity does not spare children or the health system. In conflict-hit regions of northern and central Nigeria, attacks on schools have become disturbingly common. Militant violence and kidnappings have forced classrooms to shut or families to keep children at home, eroding learning opportunities and fueling long-term social costs.

Similarly, overburdened health services struggle to cope. Reports from northern states show rising child malnutrition and deaths attributed to both conflict and shrinking access to care, with Médecins Sans Frontières citing at least 652 deaths from severe malnutrition in Katsina State during the first half of 2025 alone. These figures illustrate how insecurity and under-resourced health systems intersect with food shortages to create a humanitarian crisis.

The Human Toll: Beyond Numbers

The statistics are stark, but the human stories are more vivid. For many smallholder farmers, insecurity is not an abstract crisis — it is the fear of waking up to burnt granaries, lost livelihoods and children who go to bed hungry.

Studies of rural households find that insecurity doesn’t just reduce harvests; it shrinks dietary diversity and pushes families toward coping strategies such as eating less, skipping preferred foods or relying on aid.

One mother in a village near Makurdi describes her family’s shifting plate: “We used to have rice and vegetables most days. Now we eat less, and what we eat is often not what we once enjoyed.”

Bridging Research and Reality

Academic research, such as conflict-food security analyses, consistently links violent clashes with depleted food access, reduced farmer income and disrupted supply chains. One influential study notes that conflict increases the number of days households have limited food variety and extends periods with insufficient food.

Meanwhile, policy discussions stress that insecurity is not just a rural issue — it feeds migration to cities, places strain on urban services and threatens national stability. As displaced farming families pour into towns, demands on housing, education and health systems rise, creating broader social tensions.

Looking Ahead: More than Security Forces

Solving this crisis requires more than policing. Experts argue for policies that support displaced farmers, protect farmlands, improve market access and strengthen rural infrastructure. Investments in community safety, market logistics and resilient food systems could help restore confidence and livelihoods across Nigeria’s rural landscapes.

As one farmer puts it, “Security is not just about soldiers on the road. It’s about peace in the fields, markets that work, schools that stay open, and children who sleep full.”