From Okwe Obi, Abuja
With less than four years left before the expiration of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030, the Federal Government has unveiled a fresh 10-year strategy aimed at transforming Nigeria’s agrifood system, a move that has triggered fresh debate over the country’s ability to achieve lasting food security after years of unfulfilled promises.
Part of the goal was intended to address hunger, malnutrition, safety of aquatic animals, clean water and sanitation.
The new National Agrifood System Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035) is designed to reposition Nigeria’s agricultural sector, boost local food production, strengthen exports and align the country with the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration.
However, the timing of the initiative has raised questions among stakeholders, given that Nigeria is still struggling to meet several of the food-related targets contained in the SDGs, particularly those aimed at ending hunger, improving nutrition, promoting sustainable agriculture, ensuring food safety and protecting water resources.
Over the past decade, Nigerians have grappled with soaring food prices, worsening food insecurity, insecurity in farming communities, climate-related disruptions, rising production costs and post-harvest losses. These challenges have continued to undermine government efforts to attain food sovereignty despite numerous intervention programmes.
Against this backdrop, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, announced the new strategy during the Agrifood System Working Group Meeting, describing it as a comprehensive blueprint that would guide agricultural development over the next decade.
According to him, the strategy will be presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval as part of efforts to align Nigeria’s food security agenda with the African Union’s CAADP Kampala Declaration (2026–2035) while fundamentally transforming the country’s agricultural ecosystem.
Kyari disclosed that the initiative followed a directive from President Bola Tinubu, who, he said, wants practical and measurable reforms rather than fragmented interventions. He revealed that the President gave a clear mandate to move “beyond rhetoric, beyond pilot projects, and beyond fragmented interventions” and instead deliver “a coherent, bankable, and implementable plan to transform Nigeria’s agrifood system,” stressing that the administration considers food security a national security priority.
The minister argued that governance occupies a central position in the implementation framework.
According to him, governance “is not merely one of six strategic objectives of the Kampala Declaration; it is the bedrock upon which all other pillars sustainable production, investment, food security, inclusivity, and resilience must stand.”
He explained that the strategy was not developed in isolation but emerged from extensive consultations involving stakeholders across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones as well as national validation meetings aimed at ensuring broad participation, inclusiveness and national ownership.
Kyari further stated that Nigeria remains fully committed to implementing the Kampala Declaration adopted by African leaders in Uganda in January 2025.
He listed the declaration’s ambitious targets to include achieving a 2.45 per cent increase in agrifood output, tripling intra-African agricultural trade, reducing post-harvest losses by 50 per cent, mobilising $100 billion in public and private sector investments and reinvesting at least 15 per cent of agrifood GDP annually into the sector.
According to him, once adopted by the Agrifood System Working Group, the strategy will proceed to the Federal Executive Council for final approval.
He noted that the objective is to ensure that every ministry, department and agency aligns its programmes, projects and budgetary allocations with a single national vision for agricultural development.
The announcement comes at a time when food inflation remains one of the biggest drivers of the country’s cost-of-living crisis. Many farming communities continue to face insecurity while farmers struggle with rising fertiliser costs, inadequate mechanisation, poor access to finance and weak rural infrastructure.
Despite these challenges, Kyari maintained that the Tinubu administration has recorded significant progress in boosting agricultural productivity.
He disclosed that government has distributed more than 10 million bags of fertiliser under various intervention programmes alongside a Guaranteed Price Model designed to support two million smallholder farmers.
According to him, an additional 1.9 million bags of fertiliser have also been distributed to over one million farmers nationwide.
The minister highlighted other interventions undertaken through the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), including the distribution of over 500,000 bags of free fertiliser to more than 120,000 farmers across 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He added that the Fund, through its on-lending programme, has disbursed more than N16 billion across agricultural value chains while championing blended finance initiatives to stimulate investment.
Kyari also pointed to the establishment of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) as another major achievement.
According to him, “Establishment of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), government-enabled, private-sector-led areas that bring infrastructure directly to farming communities, enabling farmers to process raw produce into packaged goods.”
He further noted that government has intensified efforts to modernise farming through mechanisation.
“In addition, the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanization Programme has deployed 2,000 tractors and other equipment to modernize farming practices, while the distribution of one million improved hybrid cocoa seedlings is repositioning Nigeria’s cocoa industry for greater global competitiveness,” he said.
Kyari argued that the impact of these interventions is already becoming visible, claiming that prices of essential food commodities have declined by as much as 50 per cent across different parts of the country.
To sustain implementation of the new strategy, he said the Agrifood System Working Group, comprising representatives from government institutions, the private sector, development partners, academia, farmers’ organisations and civil society groups, will meet twice every year to review implementation progress and recommend solutions to emerging challenges.
He also announced that a Community of Practice meeting involving State Commissioners responsible for agriculture and agrifood systems will hold in September 2026 to strengthen coordination between the Federal Government and state governments.
Calling for greater collaboration, Kyari urged stakeholders to take collective ownership of the reform agenda.
“I enjoin all stakeholders to embrace governance as our collective responsibility. Let us strengthen inter-ministerial coordination and ensure that accountability is not an afterthought but a guiding principle.
“The time to act is now. Let us demonstrate the political will, the governance capacity, and the collective resolve to transform our agrifood systems and deliver the Nigeria we want,” he said.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, stressed the importance of reliable agricultural data in driving evidence-based policy decisions.
He said stakeholders must build a robust and accurate data system capable of supporting planning, investment and monitoring across the agricultural value chain.
Abdullahi described the Agrifood System Working Group as a practical mechanism for strengthening productivity, improving nutrition and expanding market access.
He also expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for creating what he described as an enabling environment for the milestones already achieved in the sector.
On his part, the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, warned that successful implementation of the strategy would depend largely on sustainable financing and effective collaboration.
According to him, “the successful implementation of this strategy will require adequate financing, innovative funding mechanisms, strong public-private partnerships, active participation of state governments, and sustained support from our development partners.”
Maiha added that “all and sundry must ensure that resources are deployed efficiently, transparently, and in a manner that delivers measurable results.”
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Marcus Ogunbiyi, said the Kampala Declaration provides a strong framework for coordinated action across Nigeria’s agrifood system.
He explained that the framework promotes investment, resilience, policy coherence and mutual accountability among stakeholders while supporting the country’s broader development objectives.
According to Ogunbiyi, agriculture remains critical to Nigeria’s economy because it supports millions of livelihoods, drives rural development and provides significant opportunities for employment and inclusive economic growth.
He said “the setting up of the Agrifood System Working Group to strengthen governance mechanisms holistically, addressing these interconnected issues and proffering lasting solutions toward food security for our people.”
He added: “This is why a collaborative approach is not just an option; it is an absolute imperative. We need the ingenuity of our researchers and academia to provide cutting-edge solutions.”
As Nigeria races against time to meet the 2030 SDG deadline, the success or failure of the proposed 10-year agrifood strategy is likely to determine whether the country can finally overcome persistent food shortages, improve agricultural productivity and build a resilient food system capable of feeding its growing population while competing effectively in regional and global agricultural markets.
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<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
