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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Vice President Kashim Shettima has repositioned Nigeria’s food security drive as a cornerstone of macroeconomic stability, national security, and governance, unveiling a multi-pronged strategy at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
Speaking on a high-level panel titled “When Food Becomes Security” at the Congress Centre during the 56th WEF meeting, Shettima declared that Nigeria views food security as far more than an agricultural issue. “In Nigeria, we don’t look at food security purely as an agricultural issue. It is a macroeconomic, security, and governance issue. Our focus is to use food security as a pillar for national security, regional cohesion, and stability,” he stated.
In a statement released by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President explained that the strategy rests on three pillars — increased food production, environmental sustainability, and deeper regional integration in West Africa — aimed at shielding Nigeria from global supply chain shocks.
Shettima highlighted the nation’s diverse ecological challenges, noting: “Nigeria is a very large country, and there is an incestuous relationship between economy and ecology. In the Sahelian North, we are dealing with desertification, deforestation, and drought. In the riverine South and parts of the North Central, flooding is our major challenge.”
To counter these, he said the government is rolling out drought-resistant, flood-tolerant, and early-maturing varieties of staples like rice, sorghum, and millet, while redesigning food systems in flood-prone areas.
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Security threats in key food-producing regions remain a hurdle, but Shettima outlined targeted solutions. “Most of the food baskets of our nation are security-challenged. That is why we are creating food security corridors and strengthening community-based security engagements so farmers can return safely to their land,” he said. A flagship effort, the Back to the Farm Initiative, will resettle displaced farmers with inputs, insurance, and capital.
Shettima also linked food security to Nigeria’s economic woes, pinpointing import reliance on wheat, sugar, and dairy as inflation drivers amid foreign exchange volatility. “We largely import wheat, sugar, and dairy products, and this has a direct impact on inflation. Our strategy is to accelerate local production and promote substitutes such as sorghum, millet, and cassava flour to correct these structural imbalances,” he affirmed.
Under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria — the “African giant” — has “woken up from its slumber,” Shettima declared, promising to make smallholder farmers and fishers “investable at scale” within 12 months.
He stressed intra-African trade via the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), saying: “In Africa, especially in light of global trends, intra-African trade has almost become a necessity… there have been some alignments.” Urging African leaders to prioritise internal alignment, he forecast a boom beyond the current 10.7 per cent intra-African trade rate, alongside scaled-up climate adaptation.
