Poverty, Unemployment and Food Insecurity: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

The high incidence of poverty in Nigeria coupled with the alarming rate of unemployment has raised concerns among experts as to their likely relationship with food insecurity. This study examined the nexus between poverty, unemployment and food insecurity using the Johansen cointegration test and the vector error correction model. The result from the Johansen cointegration test suggests a long-run relationship between food insecurity, poverty and unemployment. Findings from the vector error correction analysis showed a positive but insignificant relationship between poverty and food insecurity such that a percentage change in poverty in the current period is associated with a 0.09 per cent increase in food insecurity on average, ceteris paribus. Besides, a positive and significant relationship subsists between unemployment and food insecurity where an increase in unemployment exacerbated the latter. Clearly, a 1 per cent deviation in the previous period unemployment level is associated with a 1.2 per cent degeneration of the food insecurity position in the short run. In the same vein, a 1 per cent change in unemployment in the current period causes a 1.5 per cent aggravation of food insecurity. Following the findings, this study recommends a multi sector-specific approach to solving the issue of poverty in Nigeria targeting agriculture and its employment generating capacity, creating the enabling environment through infrastructure development and improving the ease of doing business for the private sector to strive and enhance its employment generating capacities. The study concludes with a call for the implementation of a holistic food security policy targeting improvement in crop yield, internal security problems and the proper funding of agriculture to be effective.