Nigeria: Climate change is driving the cost of jollof rice
By
Ruth Olurounbi
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Posted on
December 3, 2021 17:30
“I do not think anyone in Nigeria needs persuading of the need for urgent action on the environment. Desertification in the north, floods in the centre, pollution and erosion on the coast are enough evidence. For Nigeria, climate change is not about the perils of tomorrow, but what is happening today,” President Muhammadu Buhari said during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in October. And today means Nigerians are finding it increasingly hard to afford basic food items.
As Christmas and end of the year festivities roll in, Nigerians are starting to fear that they may be unable to afford a pot of their favourite meal – jollof rice. A September 2021 survey of Jollof Index by the SBM Intelligence shows that the cost of making a pot of jollof rice for a family of five remains high across the country.