The Federal Government on Thursday unveiled an ambitious 10-year Agrifood System Strategy and Action Plan, declaring food sovereignty as the country’s ultimate goal while stakeholders warned that inadequate funding could derail efforts to transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector and lift millions out of poverty.
The strategy, developed under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration (2026–2035), seeks to reposition Nigeria’s food system through coordinated investments across production, processing, marketing, nutrition, resilience, governance and agricultural financing.
Speaking at the Agrifood System Working Group (ASWG) meeting in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said the strategy represents a decisive departure from fragmented agricultural interventions towards a comprehensive food systems approach capable of delivering long-term food security and economic growth.
Kyari said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had directed the development of a practical and measurable roadmap that would fundamentally transform Nigeria’s agrifood system, describing food security as a critical national priority.
According to him, the strategy was developed through extensive consultations across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and will be presented to stakeholders for adoption before being forwarded to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.
He explained that once approved, all Ministries, Departments and Agencies would align their programmes, policies and budgets with the national agrifood transformation agenda.
The minister noted that agriculture supports more than 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population and remains central to rural development, employment generation, industrialisation and foreign exchange earnings.
He said the Kampala Declaration commits African countries to increasing agrifood production, tripling intra-African agricultural trade, reducing post-harvest losses by half, improving nutrition, mobilising 100 billion dollars in investments and closing the gender productivity gap by 2035.
Kyari, however, stressed that achieving those ambitious targets would require strong governance, institutional coordination and accountability at all levels of implementation.
Despite the optimism surrounding the roadmap, ActionAid Nigeria cautioned that inadequate public investment remains a major threat to successful implementation.
Presenting findings from the organisation’s agricultural financing dashboard, Food Systems Specialist Azubike Nwokoye said Nigeria continues to record poor capital investment in agriculture despite repeated commitments by governments.
He revealed that an assessment covering all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory showed that in 2025, only 10 states recorded high performance in agricultural capital spending, while 16 states posted very low performance and eight recorded medium performance.
“The findings are not encouraging. Between 2023 and 2025, Nigeria has performed poorly in terms of capital spending on agriculture,” Nwokoye said.
He warned that Nigeria’s combined agricultural allocation by the states and the FCT for 2026 stands at only 4.58 per cent, less than half of the 10 per cent benchmark agreed under the Maputo, Malabo and Kampala declarations.
According to him, many state governments currently devote only about three per cent of their capital budgets to agriculture, while federal capital expenditure also falls below levels required to meet continental commitments.
Nwokoye urged governments to consider supplementary budgets and prioritise investments capable of delivering measurable improvements in agricultural productivity and food security.
He added that if states fully implement their approved 2026 agricultural budgets, Nigeria could create about 1.4 million direct quality jobs, while projected federal investments could generate an additional 2.1 million jobs, bringing the national total to roughly 3.5 million direct employment opportunities.
Also speaking, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, said Nigeria’s food security ambitions depend largely on strengthening the livelihoods of the country’s estimated 42 million agricultural households.
Bagudu explained that beyond implementing the Kampala Declaration, the Tinubu administration is pursuing the broader objective of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty by 2030 through agriculture-led economic growth.
He maintained that agriculture is the responsibility of all tiers of government as well as the private sector, researchers and development partners, adding that creating an enabling environment for profitable farming remains government’s primary responsibility.
The minister highlighted ongoing reforms, including the establishment of the Ministry of Livestock Development, creation of the National Agricultural Development Fund and increased support for agricultural land development.
On gender inclusion, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said Nigeria cannot fulfil its commitments under the Kampala Declaration without removing barriers confronting women farmers.
She noted that millions of women remain disadvantaged because of limited access to land, credit, extension services, improved inputs and mechanisation.
“We are not dealing with underperforming farmers. We are dealing with under-resourced farmers,” she said, calling for measurable gender targets and improved access to agricultural opportunities for women.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, advocated stronger investment in livestock production, saying the sector should be recognised as a strategic driver of food security, rural development and economic diversification.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, described food sovereignty as the ultimate objective of Nigeria’s agrifood transformation agenda.
He said food sovereignty means Nigerians producing the food they consume while building a resilient agricultural system that guarantees every citizen access to safe, nutritious and affordable food despite challenges posed by climate change, insecurity, post-harvest losses and inadequate infrastructure.
Also addressing participants, IFAD Country Director, Ms. Dede Ekoue, described the launch of the roadmap as a landmark achievement that places Nigeria among leading African countries implementing the Kampala Declaration through a nationally owned strategy.
She commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and its partners for producing an inclusive roadmap, saying the framework provides a practical model for translating continental agricultural commitments into concrete national programmes capable of delivering lasting food security and economic transformation.
