Assessing the Effects of Climate Change on Food Insecurity in Nigeria: Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa & Rivers States in Focus

In the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, namely in the states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, and Rivers, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of climate change on food security. The study postulated that the climatic conditions of these areas had shifted throughout time, resulting in excessive heat, deforestation, erosion, flooding, desertification, increasing rainfall and temperature patterns, and other forms of environmental degradation. Given reports from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) that conflict, national economies, and climate change are the primary causes of food insecurity globally, an examination of how changing climatic conditions affect food security in these three states in the nation's South-South geopolitical zone was required. Using the descriptive survey method, 1,050 research participants were chosen from communities in each of the senatorial districts of the three states to collect views on food security and climate change. The opinions gathered for this study were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-Ver. 25.0). According to the study's findings, among other things, the effects of climate change on food security have manifested as reduced availability, accessibility, and the inability to buy food in the quantities that people used to be able to. This bolsters the argument that climate change has made food insecurity worse in these three South-South geopolitical zone states of Nigeria. Based on these findings, it was recommended that regulations be implemented to reduce activities like deforestation, gas flaring, and over-exploitation of natural resources while promoting conservative habits like recycling and other variables that contribute to climate change.