Climate change remains one of the most critical global challenges of the 21st century, which undoubtedly has significant implications for food security, especially in regions where agriculture is an essential livelihood (Morton, 2007; Anderson et al., 2020; Akinkuolie et al., 2024a). Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, depends heavily on agriculture for both the supply of food and economic growth (Adegoke et al., 2014). About 70% of Nigeria’s workforce has jobs in agriculture, which contributes about 25% of the country’s GDP (World Bank, 2022). However, the combined problems of droughts and floods—both of which have increased in frequency and severity as a result of climate change—are posing an increasing danger to this important sector (Akinsanola and Ogunjobi, 2014; Bello et al., 2017). These climate-related disasters have enormous effects on food supply, economic stability, and human well-being as they often result to decrease in agricultural production (Ayanlade et al., 2017).

Akinbami and Ibikunle (2019) highlight the intricate relationship between climate change and food security in Nigeria, which is influenced by a range of environmental, economic, and social factors. Food security is impacted by a number of factors, including availability, access, utilization, and stability. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines food security as the condition in which all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food (FAO, 2006). According to Adekola et al. (2015), each of these dimensions is susceptible to the effects of climate change. For example, floods can destroy infrastructure, degrade topsoil, and damage crops, all of which reduce the quantity of food available (Adekola et al., 2015). On the other hand, droughts can result in protracted dry spells that reduce crop yields, deplete water supplies, and increase the possibility of food shortages (Bello and Bello-Schünemann, 2018).

In Nigeria, there is a cyclical connection among food security and floods and droughts. Floods may swiftly destroy infrastructure, livestock, and crops, which drastically reduce the amount of food produced and available (Adekola et al., 2015). Food prices may rise as a result, making it more difficult for households—particularly those in rural areas—to afford a healthy diet (Oyekale, 2009). Waterborne disease outbreaks are a common aftermath of floods, and they can worsen the population’s health and productivity, making it more difficult for them to obtain food (Adekola et al., 2015). Furthermore, damage to infrastructure can disrupt supply chains, making it more difficult to get food to markets, intensifying food shortages, and hiking up costs (Adeloye and Rustum, 2011).

On the contrary, droughts present a distinct although no less serious hazard. Extended dry spells can cause soil deterioration, the loss of fertile land, and a reduction in water availability, all of which lower agricultural productivity (Ayanlade et al., 2017). Droughts can significantly lower agricultural output in Nigeria, where rain-fed agriculture is the norm, especially for staples like sorghum, millet, and maize (Orimoloye et al., 2020). This not only impacts the availability of food but also lowers the income of farmers, who employ a large number of people (Olayide and Tetteh, 2018). Because households have less money to buy what is available, reduced income further restricts access to food (Akinbami and Ibikunle, 2019). Droughts can also result in livestock deaths, which lower the amount of animal protein available and jeopardizes nutritional security even more (Bello et al., 2017).

Several underlying causes enhance the impact of these climate-induced disasters on food security. Nigeria’s varied geography, which includes tropical rainforests in the south and desert zones in the north, means that different regions will react differently to the effects of climate change (Akinsanola and Ogunjobi, 2014). Figure 1 provides a visual representation of this distribution, emphasizing the regional disparities in agricultural practices and climatic risks. As noted by Adekola et al. (2015), the northern regions are prone to droughts, whereas the southern regions are more liable to floods. Because of this geographic variability, adaption techniques must be specifically designed to take into account the unique climatic and environmental variables of each region (Olaniyi et al., 2013). Furthermore, Nigeria’s infrastructure often proves inadequate to cope with challenges imposed by extreme weather events, especially in rural areas (Adegoke et al., 2014). The difficult task of preserving food security in the face of climate change is further complicated by inadequate storage facilities, limited market access, and poor road networks (Adekola et al., 2015).

According to Holmes et al. (2017), social inequality also has a big influence on how climate change affects food security. The detrimental effects of floods and droughts disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, such as women, children, and smallholder farmers (Doss et al., 2018). A large portion of Nigeria’s agricultural workforce consists of smallholder farmers, who rarely have the technology and resources necessary to adjust to changing weather patterns (Akinbami and Ibikunle, 2019). In times of shortage, women, who usually are in charge of food production and preparation, may bear extra responsibilities as they fight to provide food and water for their family (Umoh and Ekanem, 2011). Food insecurity can have long-term effects on children’s health and development since it puts them more at risk for malnutrition and illness (Oyekale, 2009).

The frequency and severity of extreme weather events in Nigeria are predicted to rise in tandem with the acceleration of climate change, posing a further danger to food security (Ayanlade et al., 2017). This review examines the complex relationship between food security in Nigeria and floods and droughts occasioned by climate change, highlighting the necessity for all-encompassing and adaptive measures to mitigate the harm they cause and maintain the country’s economic resilience.

Following the PRISMA principles, this systematic review was carried out, ensuring a thorough and transparent method of identifying, assessing, and synthesizing the literature on how floods and droughts affect food security in Nigeria (Figure 2). A rigorous quality assessment of the included studies, well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, systematic data extraction and analysis, and a complete search strategy are all included in the methodology.

In order to find relevant articles published between 2000 and 2024, a thorough search of academic databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed, was first conducted. Certain keywords were used in the search, including “climate change,” “droughts,” “floods,” “food security,” “Nigeria,” and “adaptation strategies.” A total of 2,500 articles, papers, and documents came up in this first search. To ensure that the study spanned the entire range of existing knowledge, relevant policy documents and reports from both governmental and non-governmental organizations were incorporated into the grey literature.

A predefined set of criteria served as a guide for choosing which papers to include in the review. Studies that examined adaptation strategies to lessen the impacts of floods and/or droughts on food security in Nigeria, were empirical research, case studies, or reviews published in peer-reviewed journals, and were published within the specified period were all considered for inclusion. On the other hand, research not focused on Nigeria, articles published prior to 2000 (unless considered foundational), opinion pieces, editorials, and non-peer reviewed articles were excluded. The exclusion of pre-2000 studies was based on the rationale that recent research is more likely to reflect contemporary climate conditions, adaptation strategies, and advancements in food security frameworks. Additionally, scientific methods, data availability, and policy contexts have evolved significantly post-2000, potentially making older studies less applicable to current scenarios. However, foundational studies published before 2000 were not disregarded entirely; they were selectively reviewed to contextualize and support insights from more recent literature. For instance, seminal works that established the early theoretical frameworks or highlighted critical climate trends were cited where relevant (e.g., Mortimore, 1989; Oladipo, 1993). These foundational studies provided historical context and supplemented the findings from the primary dataset, ensuring that the review captures both historical intuitions and contemporary advancements. This approach maintains a balance between past understanding and present-day relevance. These criteria reduced the number of eligible studies in the pool to 450.

The process of extracting data from the 450 studies that were chosen involved summarizing the main conclusions, methods, and findings. Important information recorded included the geographical focus of each study, the type of impact examined (droughts, floods, or both), the strategies for adaptation that were explored, and any statistical data on food prices, agricultural yields, and population effects.

The Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB) tool and the GRADE approach were utilized to thoroughly evaluate the quality of the included studies, ensuring that the conclusions of the review were based solely on high-quality data. The quality of the studies’ methodology, their applicability to Nigeria, and the transparency of their data reporting were the main criteria used to evaluate them. To assess potential biases in the included studies, the Cochrane RoB tool was utilized. This tool looks at particular areas including reporting bias, attrition bias, detection bias, performance bias, and selection bias. Each domain is given a risk of bias rating of low, high, or unclear. This guarantees that the study’ conclusions are solid and supported by reliable data. The overall quality of the evidence was evaluated using the GRADE method which offers a thorough assessment of the strength of recommendations based on variables such research design, consistency of results, directness of evidence, and publication bias, in contrast to the PRISMA and Cochrane tools, which concentrate on the systematic review and study-level bias. Three quality levels are used to classify the evidence: high, moderate, and low. Despite having different functions, PRISMA, Cochrane RoB, and GRADE work well together in systematic reviews. GRADE assesses the certainty of the synthesis evidence, enabling well-informed recommendations; PRISMA oversees the process by assisting in ensuring reproducibility and rigor; and Cochrane RoB ensures reliability by identifying potential biases at the study level.

These approaches can be viewed generally as a multi-layered quality assurance process: GRADE validates the reliability of the conclusions derived from the body of data as a whole, Cochrane RoB highlights potential flaws in individual studies, and PRISMA provides the roadmap. These integrated approaches deliver a thorough, open, and actionable review process and findings, especially when it comes to guiding policy and practice on climate-induced food insecurity in Nigeria.

Accordingly, of the 450 papers reviewed, 51 were deemed low-quality, 80 as moderate-quality, and 319 as high-quality. Following further refinement, only 104 papers were ultimately included in the review. The results were synthesized using qualitative methods, with thematic analysis utilized to find common themes and gaps in the research. In addition, this review used meta-analytic techniques to quantitatively evaluate the impacts of various adaptation strategies on food security outcomes. Effect size estimates taken from studies showing quantitative data on the effectiveness of adaptation measures such as community-based adaptation, improved irrigation methods, and climate-smart agriculture were used to create statistical summaries. In order to assess strategies according to their influence on resilience measures, income, and agricultural production, weighted averages of effect sizes were calculated. In the absence of quantitative data, a comprehensive analysis was conducted by integrating qualitative findings. Both thematic richness and numerical rigor were provided by this mixed-methods approach.

Although this review made an effort to conduct a thorough meta-analysis, there were certain challenges posed by variations in study designs, metrics, and reported outcomes found in the reviewed literature. It was hard to standardize impact size calculations because the majority of adaptation strategy studies employed various kinds of methodologies. For example, whereas some research reported quantitative indicators like crop yields or water-use efficiency, others concentrated on qualitative results like community resilience. Additionally, the range of comparative analysis was constrained by inconsistent reporting baselines and data shortages in areas like the semi-arid north.

Notwithstanding these drawbacks, this research produced statistical summaries of the effects of adaption strategies by extracting and synthesizing quantitative data from studies where consistent metrics were available. By implementing uniform reporting guidelines and carrying out more thorough primary research in underrepresented fields, future studies could close these gaps.

The detailed methodology used in this study offered a strong foundation for synthesizing significant findings on how food security, climate change, and adaptation strategies interact in Nigeria. The results contain an in-depth analysis of the impacts that have been observed as well as possible mitigation strategies, which are addressed in more detail below.

The findings of the review emphasize how intricate and multidimensional Nigeria’s food insecurity is as a result of the climate. Numerous factors, such as geographic location, socioeconomic position, and the ability of populations to adapt to changing climatic circumstances, influence how floods and droughts affect food security (Oladipo, 2020). Even while the development of adaptation techniques has advanced significantly, more integrated and comprehensive strategies that address the underlying causes of vulnerability are still required (Oladipo, 2020; Akinbode et al., 2021). Critical information regarding the relative efficacy of adaptation techniques was revealed by the inclusion of quantitative meta-analyses. The potential for widespread adoption of climate-smart agriculture such as conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and integrated soil fertility management, was highlighted by the fact that it was found to have a particularly significant impact on crop yields.

The analysis stresses the necessity of regional customization in adaptation strategies to address Nigeria’s geographic diversity. While drought-oriented solutions like zai pits and agroforestry excel in the Sahel, flood-resilient crops and community-driven water management systems are critical in the Niger Delta. These tailored interventions not only maximize the efficiency of resources but also align with local socioeconomic and environmental contexts. By incorporating regional priorities, policymakers and practitioners can design more effective and sustainable adaptation frameworks.

Systemic barriers, such as limited access to finance and education, significantly hinder the ability of women and smallholder farmers to adopt effective adaptation strategies. For instance, women often lack ownership rights over land, which restricts their ability to secure credit needed to invest in climate-resilient technologies (Doss et al., 2018). Also, financial institutions are less likely to lend to smallholder farmers due to the perceived risks of agricultural activities in the face of climate change. According to a report by Adeola and Adetunbi (2015), only 10% of Nigerian smallholder farmers have access to formal credit, severely limiting their capacity to implement advanced irrigation or adopt drought-tolerant crops.

The education gap further compounds these challenges. Many smallholder farmers, particularly women, lack access to agricultural extension services and climate information, which are critical for informed decision-making. A study by Holmes et al. (2017) highlighted that 67% of female farmers in rural Nigeria rely solely on traditional knowledge, which may not always align with modern climate realities. Expanding access to education and training programs tailored to smallholder farmers can bridge this gap, empowering communities to effectively respond to climatic shocks.

Data-driven interventions demonstrate the potential to address these barriers. For example, initiatives like the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) have improved access to credit for smallholder farmers, with early reports indicating a 20% increase in adoption of climate-resilient practices (World Bank, 2020). Similarly, the integration of mobile platforms for disseminating weather forecasts and market information has shown promise in enhancing decision-making among marginalized groups (Ogbuabor and Egwuchukwu, 2017).

A primary obstacle in mitigating climate-related food insecurity is the need for enhanced collaboration among stakeholders at every tier. Governmental bodies, international organizations, academic and research institutions, along with local communities must work together to adapt effectively (Akinbode et al., 2021). Adewale et al. (2019) suggest that a well-defined policy framework which fosters sustainable farming practices, facilitates the adoption of climate-resilient technology, and guarantees the inclusivity and equity of adaptation measures should serve as the foundation for this collaboration.

Furthermore, more funding is required for climate change adaptation, especially in the fields of infrastructure development, capacity building, and research and development (Fadama III, 2017). To ensure that people have all the resources and knowledge necessary to adapt to the impacts of climate change, this investment should be directed toward the regions and communities who are most at risk (Fadama III, 2017; Adewale et al., 2019). For the best results, technology and participatory methods must be combined, as evidenced by the comparatively smaller impact sizes for community-based approaches. The import of using both quantitative and qualitative methods to create context-specific solutions for complex climate issues is made clear by these findings.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of international cooperation and support, especially when it comes to strengthening local communities’ ability to adapt to climate change. This support can come in the form of funds, technical expertise, and the exchange of best practices from other countries dealing with similar challenges [International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), 2018].

Climate change makes floods and droughts more frequent and dangerous for Nigeria’s food security. While many different adaptation strategies have been put into practice, continuous innovation is important for scaling up successful programs and guaranteeing their long-term efficacy. Building resilience requires promoting methods of sustainable agriculture and including climate change adaptation into national development planning.

Climate change’s impact on Nigeria’s food security necessitates focused adaptation strategies. Promoting climate-smart agriculture practices, such as agroforestry and conservation agriculture, alongside investments in drought-resilient maize and flood-tolerant rice, can significantly mitigate food insecurity risks. Establishing a National Climate Adaptation Fund will ensure financial accessibility for smallholder farmers to adopt these sustainable practices. Furthermore, integrating traditional methods like zai pits and earth bunds with modern technologies offers a comprehensive approach to resilience-building.

The necessity of improved collaboration between government agencies, development partners, and local communities is emphasized by this review. To mitigate the impacts of climate change on Nigeria’s food systems, increased funds must be committed to climate-smart agriculture, water resource management, and other adaptation measures.

Indeed, Nigeria has a lot of opportunities to build a more resilient and sustainable food system, even if it also faces a lot of challenges in adapting to climate-induced food insecurity. The country can more effectively ensure food security and improve the standard of living for millions of its people by utilizing the synergies between traditional and modern adaptation strategies, promoting regional and international cooperation, and focusing on these areas in future research and policy initiatives.

To strengthen Nigeria’s climate adaptation capacity and address food insecurity, this paper proposes actionable policy recommendations focused on funding mechanisms, institutional reforms, and inclusive stakeholder engagement.

A key recommendation is establishing a National Climate Adaptation Fund (NCAF), supported by green bonds, international climate finance mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and public-private partnerships (PPPs). This decentralized fund would direct resources to regions most affected by floods and droughts, such as the Niger Delta and Sahel. Nigeria can also draw lessons from Ethiopia’s Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy, which integrates climate resilience into national development through sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and efficient water management. Ethiopia’s success, bolstered by international collaboration, could serve as a model for Nigeria to adopt an integrated national strategy combining climate-smart agriculture (CSA) with broader development goals.

Institutional reforms are also essential to improve coordination. A Unified Climate Adaptation Agency should consolidate existing bodies like the Ministry of Environment and the National Emergency Management Agency. Local governments should be empowered with resources to implement strategies, and capacity-building programs for local officials are vital. Additionally, a robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework should ensure transparency and accountability in fund use. Kenya’s Drought Management Policy, which focuses on improving water storage and establishing community-based early warning systems, offers valuable lessons. Nigeria could replicate this participatory approach, particularly in rural areas, where smallholder farmers are most vulnerable. Engaging local communities in decision-making would improve the effectiveness of adaptation measures, as seen in Kenya.

Scaling up climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is crucial. Government at all levels should subsidize climate-resilient inputs like drought-tolerant seeds and solar irrigation systems. Expanding agricultural extension services and creating digital platforms for weather forecasts and market trends will benefit farmers. Bangladesh’s flood management strategies, including investments in embankments, polder systems, and coastal defences, provide a model for Nigeria to strengthen its flood resilience, especially in the Niger Delta.

By adopting these comparative intuitions, Nigeria can develop an Integrated National Adaptation Strategy, create community-level committees, prioritize investments in flood protection infrastructure, and engage with international funding mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to support large-scale adaptation projects. These targeted actions, tailored to Nigeria’s unique challenges, can significantly enhance the country’s climate resilience and food security.