Healthy Diet Now Costs ₦1,541 Per Person Daily as Food Prices Rise Across Nigeria
Nigeria’s average cost of a healthy diet rose to ₦1,541 per person per day in March 2026, up 11.7% from December 2025, according to a new quarterly tracker based on national statistics. For many workers, food now consumes most of the minimum wage. In Ekiti, a minimum-wage earner who maintains a basic healthy diet is left with only about ₦7,261 monthly for rent, transport, electricity, school fees and other needs. Animal-source foods, including eggs, crayfish and milk, account for almost 40% of the daily diet cost while supplying just 13% of calories. Food prices also rose sharply in some areas, with Taraba recording a 49.3% quarterly increase, while Adamawa recorded a 26.7% decline. The report also finds that rural food costs exceed urban costs in eight states, largely across the North Central and North West, as conflict disrupts farming and forces households to buy food they once produced.
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