By Rasheeda Hamidu
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, has announced plans to present a 10-year Agrifood System Strategy and Action Plan to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to strengthen food security, transform agriculture and align Nigeria with the African Union’s Kampala Declaration (2026–2035).
The Minister announced the plan on Thursday during the Agrifood System Working Group Meeting in Abuja, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
Kyari said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed the ministry to move beyond fragmented interventions and deliver a coordinated, bankable and implementable roadmap for transforming Nigeria’s agrifood system.
He described governance as the foundation for achieving the Kampala Declaration’s objectives on sustainable production, investment, food security, inclusivity and resilience.
The minister said the strategy was developed through consultations and validation meetings across the six geopolitical zones to ensure broad stakeholder participation and national ownership.
Kyari said the plan commits Nigeria to increasing agrifood output by 2.45 per cent, tripling intra-African agricultural trade, reducing post-harvest losses by 50 per cent and mobilising 100 billion dollars in public and private investment.
He added that the strategy would be presented to the Working Group before being forwarded to the Federal Executive Council to guide programmes and budgets across ministries, departments and agencies.
According to Kyari, the Renewed Hope Agenda has delivered more than 10 million bags of fertiliser under various interventions, deployed 2,000 tractors through the Agricultural Mechanisation Programme and distributed one million improved hybrid cocoa seedlings to boost productivity.
The minister also said the government had established Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones to bring processing infrastructure closer to farming communities and improve value addition across agricultural value chains.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, stressed the need for a robust agricultural data system, while Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, said adequate financing, public-private partnerships and transparent resource management would be critical to implementing the strategy.
NatureNews notes that stronger governance, climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable investment are central to achieving food security and building resilient agrifood systems across Africa.
