As part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the Federal Government on Tuesday unveiled new incentives to increase agricultural investment.
This is a component of continuous changes aimed at utilizing Nigeria’s enormous potential for food production through new policies that revolutionize the nation’s infrastructure and agricultural investments.
During the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) National and Subregional Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum in Abuja, Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima revealed this.
He asserts that although hunger is a worldwide security concern, Nigeria needs to mobilize its resources to ensure an abundant future.
Hunger brings people together more than anything else. Our vulnerabilities and the shared fragility of our life are exposed by the great equalizer. “Food is a global security issue, not just a survival issue,” he stated.
The administration is bolstering agricultural financing systems, increasing irrigation infrastructure, implementing single-window platforms for land registration, and scaling up mechanization, the vice president said.
“We need to make it easier for genuine investors to access resources and land. To increase productivity and decrease drudgery, we must promote mechanization. To guarantee that funds go where they are most needed, we must fortify the agricultural credit system,” he stated.
Sen. Shettima notably noted that irrigation is a game-changer, pointing out that Nigeria now uses less than 10% of its river basins and aquifers, which could irrigate nearly three million hectares.
“Just strategic irrigation investment could triple yields, eliminate our reliance on seasonality, and strengthen our resilience to climate shocks,” he continued.
The vice president also gave investors the assurance that agri-tech innovation, public-private partnerships, and regulatory reforms are all being used to re-engineer Nigeria’s policies in order to draw in capital.
“We are prepared to collaborate with you, and Nigeria is open for business. Let’s collaborate to create a Nigeria and a subregion where agriculture is the real driver of our prosperity, where no one goes to bed hungry, and where rural communities serve as centers of wealth generation,” VP Shettima stated.
The vice president also gave the assurance that Nigeria is open to business and prepared to collaborate with pertinent stakeholders and investors in order to carry out its national blueprint, which aims to secure national food and nutrition sufficiency while generating 21 million full-time jobs in rural and agrarian communities.
The quality of the policies we have decided to prioritize is the means by which we will get to this future. With its lofty yet attainable goals, our National Development Plan (2021–2025) is at the forefront of these actions.
“With purposeful and strategic investments in agriculture, this blueprint aims to secure national food and nutrition sufficiency, lift 35 million Nigerians out of poverty, and create 21 million full-time jobs in rural and agrarian communities,” he continued.
Prior to this, Senator Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, gave a presentation on Nigeria’s investment climate and national profile, stressing the country’s main obstacles and investment opportunities along the agribusiness value chain.
He claimed that Nigeria’s home market, vast amount of agricultural land, favorable climate, and rapidly expanding digital economy offer special chances for investment in all facets of the agribusiness ecosystem.
According to Senator Atiku Abubakar Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Nigeria’s economic potential is still largely unrealized, particularly in the areas of irrigation and agriculture, which have enormous potential for economic transformation and diversification.
He pointed out that both President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Nigeria’s medium- and long-term national development plan still heavily rely on agriculture, especially agribusiness.
Dr. Demba Sabally, the Gambia’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Security, praised the FAO for organizing the event and Nigeria’s agricultural leadership, emphasizing the nation’s achievements in the rice and cassava value chains as models for other nations in the subregion and beyond.
Because of their shared difficulties and chances for development and change, he underlined the importance of peer review among West African nations.
The Hand-in-Hand Initiative is FAO’s “evidence-based, country-led, and country-owned flagship program, designed to accelerate agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development,” according to Dr. Hussein Gadain, a representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in Nigeria and ECOWAS.
According to him, the program’s main goals are to eradicate poverty, put an end to hunger and all types of malnutrition, and lessen inequality. It serves as our means of accomplishing the SDGs.
Dr. Gadain praised Vice President Shettima’s sincere dedication and visionary leadership in transforming Nigeria’s agri-food systems, praising Nigeria’s well-defined agricultural development priorities and characterizing them as drivers of transformative and sustainable growth within Africa’s agri-food systems.
The VP’s “passion for agriculture, food security, and nutrition is unmatched,” the FAO representative said. He has been instrumental in luring significant investments and encouraging creativity, and his ongoing efforts are deserving of our greatest praise.
The EU remains Nigeria’s long-term partner in the country’s agricultural journey and is committed to investing in value chain development, beginning with the recent investment of over 80 million euros to unlock opportunities in key value chains across 7 states.
Mr. Gautier Mignot, Head of the EU Delegation in Nigeria, said the Hand-in-Hand Initiative reflects Nigeria’s strong commitment to strengthen food security and deepen investment across the agribusiness value chain. He said the EU stands ready to deepen collaboration with Nigeria as a partner to ensure irrigation becomes a pathway for economic growth and agricultural transformation.
