Red Cross intervention underway, but lean season looms
By Xamblog.com

Hunger is tightening its grip on Northeast Nigeria, particularly in conflict-affected communities such as Dikwa in Borno State, where thousands of families are going multiple days without food. The region, long plagued by insurgency and displacement, is now facing worsening food insecurity as farmers abandon their fields and crop yields plummet due to ongoing violence.

“Sometimes we go two or three days with nothing to eat,” said a local farmer in Dikwa, speaking to humanitarian monitors. “The land is there, but it is too dangerous to farm.”

According to recent assessments by humanitarian agencies, millions remain food insecure across the northeast, with many in crisis or emergency levels of hunger. In places like Dikwa, banditry, terrorism, and unpredictable weather patterns have made agriculture nearly impossible, resulting in widespread malnutrition and deepening poverty.

Red Cross Steps In, But Challenges Persist

To mitigate the crisis, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has launched a support program targeting over 21,000 vulnerable households across Borno State and other affected areas. These families are being provided with seeds, hoes, and fertilizers in an effort to boost local food production before the 2025 lean season—a period between harvests when food supplies typically run low.

While the support is timely, aid workers warn that it may not be enough, especially as the lean season sets in between July and September. Food stocks from the last harvest have already been depleted, and insecurity continues to disrupt market access and food distribution routes.

Why the Northeast is Especially Vulnerable

The crisis in the northeast is not new. Since the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009, millions have been displaced, and countless farms abandoned. The region’s economy—once supported by subsistence agriculture and cross-border trade has crumbled under years of violence, leading to high levels of dependency on humanitarian aid.

A joint 2024 report by UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) identified Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states as epicenters of child malnutrition, with thousands of children at risk of starvation.

The Bigger Picture: National Food Security at Risk

What is happening in Dikwa is part of a larger food insecurity crisis unfolding across Nigeria. Despite having 40% of Africa’s arable land, the country continues to record some of the continent’s lowest crop yields due to poor infrastructure, climate shocks, and insecurity. Over 33 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger, according to the Cadre Harmonisé food security report.

Experts warn that if regions like the northeast are left unsupported, the crisis could spill over into neighboring states, compounding internal displacement and increasing pressure on already stretched public services.

A Call for Coordinated Action

The Red Cross and other agencies have called on the Nigerian government and the international community to scale up food and agricultural support, while also prioritizing long-term peace and development strategies.

“Seeds and tools are a good start, but people need peace, safe access to land, and functioning markets,” said a spokesperson for the ICRC Nigeria office.

The situation in Dikwa underscores the fragility of life in conflict zones, and the urgent need to protect the livelihoods of the most vulnerable. Without sustained efforts, the hunger crisis risks becoming a generational tragedy.

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Last Updated on July 21, 2025 by kingstar