FOOD INSECURITY IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS ON POVERTYREDUCTION

Abstract

Despite an increase in food production in Nigeria, majority of the people, especially the rural Nigerians, are still
not food secured. Therefore, this paper examines the factors responsible for food insecurity in Nigeria and its
implications on poverty reduction. Vector Auto regression model along with its devices: Impulse Response
Functions and the Variance Decomposition Device were used. The study found that food insecurity is determined by
domestic food production and per capita income. It is, therefore, suggested that, to alleviate poverty in Nigeria,
there should be self-reliance in food and strict control on food imports.