By Awyetu Asabe Hope
The Federal Government has said no fewer than 10 million farmers will receive soil test-based advisory services by 2027 as part of efforts to boost agricultural productivity, nutrition and incomes nationwide.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at the unveiling of the Readiness Assessment of Sub-Nationals for the Nigerian Farmers Soil Health Scheme.
He said the initiative would see about five million hectares of farmland managed using improved soil practices such as organic fertilisers, lime application, cover cropping and agroforestry systems.
Abdullahi added that digital soil health cards would be distributed to farmers across the 774 local government areas through mobile technology, enabling access to tailored soil management recommendations.
According to him, the readiness assessment is designed to identify degraded soils, gaps in soil testing access, and capacity constraints in delivering advisory services across the country.
He said the findings would guide investments under the 2026 budget framework to maximise impact on productivity, nutrition and climate resilience.
“The readiness assessment provides evidence that addressing soil health at scale requires strong policies, robust institutions, modern infrastructure and coordinated partnerships,” he said.
The minister explained that the report was developed through fieldwork, laboratory audits, policy analysis, stakeholder consultations and data validation across states.
He noted that it would help align public and private investments, including those of the National Agricultural Development Fund, state governments, development partners and private sector actors.
Abdullahi said the assessment focuses on five key pillars:
policy and governance, institutional capacity, technical readiness, stakeholder engagement, and monitoring and evaluation systems.
He added that the soil health scheme aims to tackle land degradation, improve nutrient efficiency and strengthen the scientific basis of food production.
Highlighting the urgency, he said decades of nutrient depletion, erosion, flooding and poor land use had significantly reduced soil fertility and increased farmers’ vulnerability.
He warned that neglecting soil health could undermine national food security and broader development goals.
The minister further disclosed that the programme would expand soil testing through mobile laboratories and the Nigerian Soil Information System, in collaboration with development partners, including the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit.
He added that it would promote the use of organic fertilisers, biochar, lime application and improved extension services supported by digital tools.
Abdullahi listed key milestones already achieved to include the development of the scheme’s concept note, establishment of technical committees, design of soil health cards and creation of a national soil information system.
Other milestones, he said, include integration into the ECOWAS fertiliser hub and provision of laboratory equipment to 12 states.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Marcus Ogunbiyi, said soil health had become a national security priority under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the government was working to transform agriculture into a climate-resilient sector through large-scale soil testing and the establishment of laboratories nationwide.
Ogunbiyi added that the readiness assessment would help identify gaps, strengths and priority areas in extension services, input systems and data platforms, guiding the final design, budgeting and implementation of the scheme.