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Household food spoilage amidst food crisis; climate impact on Nigerian households

 

By Greatson Odion

 

Nigeria is presently experiencing a lot of economic upheavals from inflation to food crisis, which has placed tremendous amount of stress and frustration on Nigerians.

Following the heat wave attack in recent days, there have been wide spread discourse on the public health impact of the extreme temperature.

One consequence of the intense heat that has received little attention is the high risk of food spoilage due to increased microbial and enzymatic activities.

Different factors influence the rate of food spoilage, temperature, the type of microorganisms associated with a type of food, humidity etc.

It’s also worth mentioning that different microbes have different temperature preference. All things being equal, and as a general rule of thumb, high temperature will speed up the rate of food spoilage in Nigeria.

Food spoilage has been an endemic issue in Nigeria but let us look at this issue from a risk-perspective, Nigeria is an energy starved nation with slightly half of its population having access to electricity, the predominant electricity users live in urban areas, placing rural inhabitants at an increased risk of food spoilage due to lack of electricity and a storage system.

According to various sources, 18-24% of Nigerians have a refrigerator, and the majority being urban dwellers. Low income households constitute the bulk of rural dwellers.

The presently lingering food crisis in Nigeria is a burden on Nigerians, and there’s an extra strain, the food spoilage and wastage impact of climate change.

People tend to cook in large quantities because it’s cost effective; it saves gas and reduces the amount of raw food used in the preparation.

In the absence of a refrigerator and inadequate electricity, people and household, due to the likelihood of food spoilage will have to prepare meals for immediate or short-term consumption putting more economic burden on an already burdened Nigerian.

We can clearly see that climate change is hitting households. It’s widely agreed that the global north are largely responsible for global warming due to their high energy consumption and industrial activities.

This table shows the energy gap between African countries and the developed world, the gap is enormous. Nigeria as a country lacks adaptive mechanisms and resources to cope with the lingering impact of climate change.

This table also shows that a single Nigerian consumes less electricity than a single fridge in the US.

The more Nigerians are aware of these issues, the earlier actions are taken.

 

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