By Faridat Salifu
Nigeria’s agricultural research institutes have produced real innovation over the years, the problem, according to Sasakawa Africa Association’s Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Godwin Atser, is that too little of it ever makes it out to the farm.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2026 Africa Food Systems Forum recently in Kigali, Atser pushed for heavier government investment in agricultural research, extension and advisory services, arguing that closing this gap is central to transforming the country’s food systems.
His sharpest point centered squarely on agriculture’s research to farmer pipeline, warning that technologies developed inside research institutes carry little practical value without a functioning system to move them out to the people actually working the land.
Government needs to look closely at how it resources extension services, he argued, so that innovations already sitting in the country’s research institutes can genuinely reach farmers rather than staying locked in the lab.
He tied that concern to a broader worry about agricultural budgeting, noting that only a handful of African countries have hit the CAADP target of allocating 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture.
Nigeria, he said, had made real progress toward that goal at one point, before momentum either stalled or failed to keep pace with where it needed to be.
Stronger extension systems, backed by digital tools and strategic partnerships, will be essential to closing that research to adoption gap, he said.
On SAA’s own agricultural work in Nigeria, Atser outlined a portfolio spanning regenerative agriculture, market oriented farming, nutrition sensitive agriculture, capacity building, digital extension and inclusion.
The organisation is also intensifying its push on improved seed varieties, climate smart farming practices, youth participation and livestock development, he said.
Atser described the Kigali forum as a genuine exchange for SAA, a chance to trade knowledge with other agricultural stakeholders and spot approaches from elsewhere on the continent that could be adapted for Nigerian farming conditions.
On future partnerships, he said SAA is in discussions with the Jigawa State Government about expanding its agricultural interventions there, while also eyeing the International Rice Research Institute, Somalia and Senegal as potential collaborators.
Funding from the Nippon Foundation remains central to SAA’s agricultural programming across Africa, he said, though scaling up impact will require deeper partnerships with state governments and other institutions.
Zooming out to the continent’s broader food systems agenda, Atser acknowledged genuine agricultural progress over the past two decades, while cautioning that hunger and food insecurity remain far from resolved.
He closed by calling for greater investment in young people working in agriculture and wider access to digital agricultural services for smallholder farmers, arguing that equipping farmers across every category with the right information, technologies and advisory support is what will ultimately build food systems that are resilient, productive and inclusive.
