Flooding, Food Security and the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria: An Assemblage and Systems Thinking Approach

Abstract

Food is connected to sustainable development goals in numerous ways, as food security is key to achieving sustainable development. The world is currently not on track to achieve the set sustainable development goals (SDGs). In Nigeria, flooding is a recurrent disaster and constitutes a setback to success with the SDGs and sustainable development. Flooding disasters are a threat to food security due to their impact on the food system. This study is an integrative review that explores the link between Nigeria’s flooding, food security, and the SDGs. It adopts an assemblage and systems thinking approach to analyze the impact of flooding on all components of food security. It finds that, despite the impact of flooding on food security, it is not recognized as a threat by policymakers, as evidenced by the lack of mention of disasters in the current Nigeria Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP). Attention is drawn to this oversight in this work by highlighting the interconnections between flooding, food security, and sustainable development. Recommendations on flood mitigation and adaptive practices that can alleviate the negative impact of flooding on food security to enhance the success rate of the SDGs are proffered. This work contributes to the literature by showcasing the impact of flooding on food security and its connection to sustainable development, which is an area that has not received adequate attention in research. The assemblage and system thinking approach adopted brings novelty and allows for a succinct understanding of how flooding impacts all four aspects of food security. This paper serves as the first time the problem has been explored in this manner.