By Faridat Salifu
Nigeria’s efforts to use agriculture and livestock development to tackle food insecurity and unemployment face mounting pressure from climate shocks, rising input costs, weak markets, inadequate financing and post-harvest losses.
Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, recently highlighted the challenges on Monday at the second International Conference of the Agrifood Systems Stakeholders Forum at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
The conference, organised by the Agricultural Policy Research Network (APRNet), examined the pressures confronting Nigeria’s agrifood systems and possible approaches to food insecurity, poverty and youth unemployment.
Maiha said climate variability, flooding, drought and land degradation were increasingly affecting agricultural production, while rising input costs were adding to the burden on producers.
He also identified animal diseases, post-harvest losses, weak market linkages and limited access to finance as major constraints across the agricultural value chain.
The challenges raise concerns over the ability of farmers and livestock producers to expand production at a time when the country is seeking to increase domestic food supply and create more employment through agriculture.
Maiha said the Federal Government was responding by improving access to skills, finance, infrastructure and markets, while promoting its coordinated national livestock development agenda.
He said the livestock sector could generate employment beyond primary production through businesses such as feed manufacturing, hatcheries, dairy collection, animal health services, storage, processing, logistics and waste-to-wealth enterprises.
However, the minister stressed that the sector’s potential would depend on addressing the conditions that currently limit productivity and investment.
At the conference, UNIPORT Vice-Chancellor Princewill Chike linked the challenges in agriculture to Nigeria’s growing youth migration and brain drain.
Chike said making agriculture more attractive to young Nigerians could provide an alternative to migration by creating viable livelihoods within the country.
He urged policymakers to develop sustainable agricultural policies capable of encouraging young people to see farming and agribusiness as businesses rather than merely subsistence activities.
Anthony Onoja, President of APRNet and coordinator of the conference, said stronger cooperation between researchers, policymakers and agricultural practitioners was necessary to translate research into solutions for food insecurity and unemployment.
Onoja said the conference would also examine ways to address low farm productivity, climate-related risks and conflicts affecting agricultural activities.
The discussions come as Nigeria continues to rely heavily on agriculture as a pathway to food security and job creation, while producers remain exposed to environmental, financial and market pressures.
For the sector to deliver on its employment and food-security potential, stakeholders at the conference said policy commitments would need to be matched with practical interventions that improve productivity, reduce losses, expand market access and strengthen farmers’ ability to withstand climate and economic shocks.