By Lanre Shodimu
As Nigerians battle with high cost of food crisis,many homes are unable to adequately afford nutritious meals.
At a recently held event, food policy experts have called for an urgent policy shifts toward alternative protein sources as country grapples with population growth, climate change, food insecurity and rising protein costs.
This was at a two-day summit titled “Building Nigeria’s Sustainable Protein Future: Ecosystem Alignment for Next-Gen Food Innovation,” held at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
It was an event organised by Alternative Protein Project groups at the University of Nigeria and the University of Ibadan, with support from the Good Food Institute (GFI), a global nonprofit advancing innovation in alternative proteins.
In an interview with news man at the sidelines of the summit, Professor Augustine Clement, Vice-Chancellor of Adamawa State University, warned that Nigeria and Africa are facing a significant protein deficit driven by climate change, insecurity, and the high cost of conventional animal farming.
According to clement, drought and environmental degradation are shrinking grazing lands and reducing agricultural yields, placing enormous strain on livestock production and food systems.
“Climate change has serious consequences on food security. Our pastures are drying up, and what we used to produce adequately can no longer meet demand. There is a need to promote alternative protein sources that will complement and possibly replace conventional sources in the future,” he said.
He noted that rising costs of poultry, livestock feed, and animal husbandry have made conventional protein increasingly unaffordable for many Nigerians, contributing to widespread protein inadequacy.
Professor Ibrahim Umar, Vice-Chancellor of Modibbo Adama University, represented by Professor Kalep Filli, in a key note address painted a stark demographic picture.
Nigeria, with an estimated population of about 220 million, over 60 percent of whom are under 24, faces mounting pressure on its food systems.
While global extreme poverty has declined significantly over the past three decades, sub-Saharan Africa is projected to account for 90 percent of the world’s extremely poor by 2050, with Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo contributing nearly 40 percent of that figure.
According to him, “the average daily protein intake in Nigeria remains below the FAO/WHO-recommended 64 grams per person, largely due to affordability challenges” .
“The high cost of animal protein is a major limitation to meeting global dietary requirements,” he said. “Industrialising animal agriculture may increase supply but poses serious risks to our climate commitments and biodiversity.” He said
Speakers at the event emphasized biotechnology and extrusion technology as critical tools for developing sustainable protein alternatives.
Biotechnology, they explained, enables the use of living cells and microorganisms to produce innovative food products in environmentally friendly ways, reducing pollution compared to conventional chemical processes.
Extrusion technology, which shapes plant proteins into fibrous, meat-like textures, plays a key role in improving digestibility, enhancing functionality, and creating plant-based meat alternatives.
“These technologies allow us to produce protein-rich foods with minimal land, water, and greenhouse gas emissions,” Umar said.
Experts identified several promising areas for Nigeria’s protein future, including microalgae farming, fungi-based proteins, seaweed cultivation, plant-based meat, cultivated (lab-grown) meat and precision fermentation for dairy and egg alternatives.
Cultivated meat, produced directly from animal cells without raising livestock, was highlighted as having near-zero emissions compared to conventional meat production.
Food production in Nigeria is concentrated in rural areas, many of which face persistent insecurity. Clement stressed that declining production from these regions has worsened food insecurity nationwide.
To address this, he advocated for climate-smart agriculture, greenhouse farming, backyard aquaculture, and technological innovations that enable higher yields from smaller spaces.
“From a small greenhouse space, you can produce more output compared to large hectares of open farmland,” he said. “We must begin to embrace smart, climate-resilient agriculture.”
