The security context in Nigeria is hampering agricultural monitoring and national food security analyses. In order to better assess the impact of insecurity on agriculture in hard-to-reach areas, WFP proposes to include the use of high-resolution satellite images in the analyses, in collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS). This enables to overcome access constraints and territory vastness; it evaluates cropland changes in hard-to-reach areas of Nigeria, comparing 2021 with the previous year and with a reference year before the onset of violence and insecurity. The resulting products complement the information available on cultivated agricultural areas, traditionally collected through field surveys.

This note briefly describes the methodology of the analysis and presents the main results, providing an overview of the post-harvest situation in 2021 in 57 LGAs in Nigeria, with regard to the security incidents that have occurred since the beginning of the year. Finally, this document proposes ways in which these products can be used in the Cadre Harmonisé process (contributing factors) and targeting activities for humanitarian emergency response.