Nigeria ranked 15th out of 179 countries on the fragile states index in 2023 (Fund for Peace, 2023). . Partly due to severe floods in many of its states, food inflation is estimated to have pushed five million people into poverty (World Bank, 2023). Situated within the West Africa region, Nigeria’s population of more than 225 million people is growing at an annual rate of about 2.7%. On the Global Hunger Index, Nigeria ranked 103rd out of 121 countries in 2022.

Malnutrition, measured as the average protein supply in grams/capita/day is worsening and the prevalence of undernourishment is increasing. Nigeria’s FLW systems are challenged by widespread insecurities including terrorism and violent conflict between farmers and herders. These conflicts disrupt and destroy agri-food systems by displacing farmers, loss of agricultural assets and stored foodstuffs, and disruption to markets. Already, the conflicts have worsened conditions in existing fragile resource environments, slowed development progress and escalated the food and nutrition insecurity of the nation’s vulnerable women and children (World Food Programme, 2022) . The agriculture sector also suffered a severe short-term shock of a 13.1% loss in output (USD 1.2 billion) during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 (Andam et al. 2020) , with Covid-19 policies such as restricted human mobility
triggering a long-term hike in food prices due to reduced hired labour for production and reduced market supply.

Governments in Nigeria have embarked on several policies to facilitate access to agricultural land and water that can support efforts at making the nation food secure. However, policies on food, land and water sectors have often been enacted in silos under respective ministries, departments, and agencies, where the challenges of these sectors are often multi-layered and interconnected (FAO, 2011). There is also persistent duplication in the formulation and implementation of development programs as well as unfavourable land tenurial arrangements and land grabbing. Complexities in Nigeria’s FLW sectors result in poor coordination, inadequate funding, and limited policy scope, hampering the achievement of desired agri-food outcomes. A need for more horizontal, vertical, and financial policy coherence remains paramount, to ensure effective harmonization and coordination in policy implementation at all levels of governance.