Food Systems Resilience and Household Nutrition Security During Climate Shocks: Evidence From Farming Communities in North West Nigeria

Climate variability and extreme weather events increasingly disrupt food systems and threaten household nutrition security in Northern Nigeria, yet the mechanisms of food system resilience that buffer nutritional outcomes during shocks remain poorly understood. This study investigated food system resilience and household nutrition security during climate shocks in farming communities in Zamfara, Sokoto, and Kebbi States, North West Nigeria, a region facing escalating drought and flood events. A longitudinal shock-response study design followed 360 farming households through two climate shock events over 30 months. Household food system resilience was assessed using a composite index spanning dimensions of diversity, flexibility, adaptive capacity, and social connectedness. Nutrition security outcomes included dietary diversity scores, food expenditure share, and child anthropometric status measured before, during, and after shock events. Multilevel growth curve modelling was applied to characterise nutritional trajectories during and after shocks. Results showed that households with higher food system resilience scores maintained significantly better dietary diversity during and after climate shocks compared to low-resilience households. Livestock asset diversity, diversified income sources, and participation in community resource-sharing networks were the strongest resilience components. Women's decision-making authority over food resources significantly amplified household resilience. Child stunting incidence was significantly higher in low-resilience households following shocks. The study contributes original empirical evidence and a validated food system resilience measurement framework applicable to climate-vulnerable agroecosystems in Northern Nigeria. Keywords: food system resilience, climate shocks, nutrition security, North West Nigeria, household vulnerability