Category: News | Read time: 4 min read | Tags: Climate, Drought, Northern Nigeria, Food Security, Agriculture
Farmers across Nigeria’s north — the country’s breadbasket — are sounding the alarm as the region grapples with its most severe drought in three decades. Crop yields in states including Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kebbi have fallen by as much as 60% compared to the same period last year, according to data from the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS).
The crisis is being driven by a combination of delayed onset rains, rising temperatures attributed to climate change, and the continued degradation of farmland due to desertification advancing southward from the Sahara at an estimated rate of 0.6 kilometres per year.
Farmers speak out
In Kankia, Katsina State, Malam Usman Garba has been farming the same plot of land for 35 years. This season, he says, his millet yield was barely enough to feed his family for three months. “In my father’s time, this land gave us food and enough to sell. Now the soil is dry before the crops are ready,” he told a journalist who visited the community.
Similar stories were repeated across dozens of villages. Women who typically earn income by selling surplus groundnuts described empty stores and rising debt as they struggle to buy food at prices that have more than doubled.
Food security implications
Analysts warn that the harvest shortfall could trigger a significant food security crisis in the north by early next year. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has already classified parts of Zamfara and Sokoto as being in ‘stressed’ food security phases, with conditions potentially deteriorating to ‘crisis’ level by the first quarter of 2026.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture has announced an emergency food distribution programme targeting 500,000 households, but critics argue the response is too slow and too small relative to the scale of need.
What needs to happen
Climate experts and agricultural economists are calling for a combination of emergency relief and long-term investment in climate-resilient farming practices, including drought-resistant seed varieties, irrigation infrastructure, and land restoration programmes. Nigeria receives billions in climate finance pledges from international partners annually, but disbursement and implementation have been chronically slow.
Chukwu Vincent Ogbonnia is the founder and lead editor of Viralarena, a Nigerian digital media platform covering breaking news, music, and sport. Based in Abuja, Vincent is a content creator passionate about telling Nigerian stories with speed, accuracy, and cultural authenticity.
Chukwu Vincent Ogbonnia is the founder and lead editor of Viralarena, a Nigerian digital media platform covering breaking news, music, and sport. Based in Abuja, Vincent is a content creator passionate about telling Nigerian stories with speed, accuracy, and cultural authenticity.
