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By Rita Okoye
Across West Africa, food systems shape daily life, from what families eat to how farmers earn and how governments respond to shocks. Thus, disease outbreaks, trade disruptions, and tariff policies can ripple quickly through these systems, affecting prices, trade flows, and nutrition. Understanding these dynamics has never been more critical. It is in this context that Christiana Amarachi Ukaoha, a Nigerian agricultural economist, has been examining the vulnerabilities of poultry supply chains in West Africa and the United States.
Ukaoha, a recipient of both the Federal Government of Nigeria Scholarship and the highly selective EducationUSA Opportunity Fund Program award, is currently a research and teaching assistant at the University of Florida. Her appointment is funded through competitive sources, including the UF Quest Teaching Fund and the University of Florida Foundation. She explained that small disruptions can have a significant impact. “Poultry supply chains are complex. When tariffs interact with local disease outbreaks, the consequences reach consumers and producers alike,” she said. Her recent study, published in the GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences Journal, explored how trade policies and avian disease shocks combine to destabilise markets.
In West Africa, tariffs designed to protect local producers can backfire during crises. “When bird flu spreads and imports are restricted at the same time, supply collapses and urban prices soar,” Ukaoha noted. “Low-income families are hit hardest, often unable to afford basic protein sources.” She highlighted that the same policy tools have different effects depending on the system: in fragile economies, tariffs can amplify food insecurity, whereas in more advanced systems, they mainly affect export competitiveness.
The situation contrasts sharply with the United States. There, tariffs mostly impact producers rather than consumers. Despite outbreaks that have affected millions of birds, subsidies, insurance, and robust veterinary systems keep food prices relatively stable. “The U.S. consumer is largely protected, but the ripple effects are felt abroad,” Ukaoha observed. “This is why global coordination and cooperation matter.”
For Nigeria and neighbouring countries, the findings reveal multiple weak points. Heavy reliance on smallholder farmers, porous borders, and informal cross-border trade create vulnerabilities that allow shocks to propagate quickly. Ukaoha stressed the need for stronger veterinary systems and coordinated regional policies: “Food security is not just about producing more. It’s about building systems that keep food affordable and available even when crises strike.”
She also pointed to the global dimension of food security. Disruptions in major export markets affect importing nations across Africa and Asia. “When a major player sneezes, the rest of the world feels it,” Ukaoha said. “This is why surveillance systems, early warning mechanisms, and fair trade agreements are crucial.”
This work builds on Ukaoha’s growing portfolio of research linking agricultural efficiency with policy impact. From studies on cowpea, soybean, and biofortified crops to poultry tariffs and disease shocks, her insights bridge farm-level realities with national and international policy debates.
At a time when Nigeria faces rising food prices, periodic poultry disease outbreaks, and high import bills, Ukaoha’s observations are timely. She emphasised that policy responses must be flexible and inclusive: “Protecting farmers is essential, but consumers must not be left behind. Adaptive policies that consider both trade and health disruptions are key to sustaining food security.”
