The University of Nigeria, Nsukka has warned that Nigeria’s food and water systems are under severe threat from climate change, water scarcity, and worsening insecurity, calling for urgent policy action.
Speaking at the event on Tuesday, organised by the Resource and Environmental Policy Research Centre–Environment for Development (REPRC-EfD Nigeria), the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, said the nation’s food and water pillars “are facing unprecedented stress,” urging policymakers to act on new research presented by the university.
The event held in Enugu State capital was in commemoration of its annual Policy Day on sustainable natural resource management.
“Water scarcity threatens agricultural productivity and livelihoods across many regions.
“Climate change has disrupted rainfall patterns, and banditry continues to displace farmers and destroy farmlands. The result is a growing threat to food security and social stability,” the vice chancellor said.
The policy day featured findings from three major studies on water scarcity in Enugu State, gender-differentiated impacts of climate-smart agriculture among cassava farmers, and the effect of armed banditry on agricultural productivity across Nigeria.
Ortuanya stressed that the university is committed to research that directly informs national policy, adding “Research must lead the way in finding solutions to these intertwined challenges.”
He commended development partners, especially the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), for supporting research capacity through the EfD network.
He urged participants to “engage in robust discussion” to help chart a new course for water management, climate-smart agriculture, and food security in Nigeria.
Speaking in an interview, Director of REPRC-EfD Nigeria, Prof. Nnaemeka Chukwuone, said the event is designed to bridge research and policymaking.
“This policy day is an annual event where we present research findings to policymakers and engage them to draw out policy inputs,” he said.
According to him, “the water scarcity study was conducted with the Enugu State Ministry of Water Resources, while our study on climate for agriculture has already been accepted in a top journal.”
He added that the study on armed banditry shows wide-ranging gender impacts in affected communities.
He said the event drew stakeholders from the Federal Ministries of Environment, Water Resources, and Agriculture, the National Council on Climate Change, security agencies, and state ministries from Enugu and Anambra.
The event ended with calls for translating the research into concrete policy reforms that address Nigeria’s deepening water and food security challenges.