Nigeria Making Strides Toward Food Independence — Minister Kyari

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has stated that Nigeria is taking significant steps toward achieving food sovereignty through innovative policies, strengthened international collaborations, and enhanced support for local production.

Kyari disclosed this on Thursday in Kaduna during the closing ceremony of the 47th National Council on Agriculture and Food Security (NCAFS).

He emphasized that agriculture remains Nigeria’s largest employer of labour, contributing more than a quarter of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He described the sector as the cornerstone of the country’s economic renewal and long-term resilience.

Kyari said early results of government interventions were encouraging, with food prices beginning to decline across several commodities.

He said the Federal Government had strengthened the National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP), supported by the African Development Bank and state governments, to provide affordable inputs to farmers.

According to him, wheat cultivation has expanded beyond the 15 states covered last season, with rainfed farming now introduced in Plateau, Taraba and Cross River States.

“With rainfed wheat now viable, Nigeria is moving closer to all-year farming and self-sufficiency in production,” he said.

The minister also unveiled the Nigeria Postharvest Systems Transformation Programme (NiPHaST), developed with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), to address post-harvest losses estimated at 10 billion dollars annually.

He said the programme would equip farmers with climate-smart storage tools and upgrade processing hubs and national silos through public-private partnerships.

Earlier, Gov. Uba Sani said agriculture has become both a “moral and economic imperative” for his administration.

He said Kaduna State raised its agriculture budget from N1.48 billion in 2023 to N74 billion in 2025 a 5,000 per cent increase surpassing the Malabo Declaration’s 10 per cent target.

“We are the nation’s leading producer of ginger, maize and grapes, and second in soybeans. Beyond statistics lies the story of a resilient people whose toil sustains Nigeria.”

He said the state distributed over 900 trucks of fertiliser across 23 local councils, supported livestock producers and enrolled more than 100,000 farmers in crop insurance schemes.

“Peace has returned to lands once gripped by fear. We are reclaiming 20,000 hectares with irrigation systems to enable all season farming,” he added.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, said the meeting’s theme reflected President Bola Tinubu’s resolve to place food at the centre of economic renewal.

“True national strength begins with the ability to feed ourselves. Food sovereignty is about more than availability it’s about sustainable control over our food systems,” he said.

NAN