The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to disrupt life around the world, with a toll on human lives and economic activities. Its rapid global spread has affected millions of people already vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition due to the effects of conflict and other disasters.1 In response, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) developed the Keeping Food Markets Working (KFMW) programme to provide targeted support to help sustain core food systems, workers and markets during the COVID-19 emergency. The programme’s objective is to mitigate the risk of the collapse of food systems and ensure the availability and affordability of nutritious food. This report summarises the current situation of Nigeria’s food system amidst COVID-19, with a special emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and how nutritious foods value chains are changing.
The information used for this report draws on secondary data and primary research from GAIN and its partner initiatives. To substantiate the report, a thorough desk review of available secondary data was conducted, drawing primarily on information sourced from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Big Data tool on food chains under the COVID-19 pandemic; FAO Food Price Monitoring and Analysis; Cadre Harmonis ; the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the World Bank. The information is current as of 14 June 2021.