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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Nigeria’s food crisis has reached alarming levels, with terrorism and other factors pummelling various agrarian states and creating a terrible insufficiency nightmare.
In response, the Federal Government is expanding the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration from 2026 to 2035.
The Kampala agreement deal was first reached in 2022, targeting migration, environment and climate as hurdles to food production.
However, the inability of Nigeria to achieve food sovereignty gave rise to the deal extension.
Before then, Nigeria signed up for the Maputo declaration in 2003 where African Heads of State agreed to commit at least 10% of their national budgets to agricultural development.
But the failure of Nigeria to keep up with the agreement birthed the Kampala agreement, which the federal government recently claimed would lead to a full-scale agro-industrialisation, value addition, resilient and sustainable food systems.
Also, in April last year, the federal government specifically disclosed plans to introduce zinc rice varieties, Faro 71 and 72, to enhance nutrition.
The government cited a global health report which stated that about 68% of children under five in Nigeria suffer from anemia and iron deficiencies.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar kyari, stated that the zinc rice varieties, Faro 71 and Faro 72 will address key challenges in rice production and significantly contribute to food and nutrition security for Nigeria’s smallholder farmers, who depend on rice for both sustenance and income.
“These varieties not only offer higher zinc content and yield but also climate resilience such as adaptability to Savanna and Rainforest ecologies, Drought tolerance and Pest and disease resistance, which make them a valuable tool for enhancing both the productivity and resilience of rice farming systems in vulnerable communities, he said.”
The minister pointed out that zinc deficiency is a significant public health issue in Nigeria, contributing to poor nutrition outcomes, especially among women and children.
He added that zinc is a vital micronutrient required for immune function, growth, cognitive development, and overall well-being.
“Yet, a large proportion of the Nigerian population does not meet their daily zinc requirements due to diets that are predominantly low in bioavailable micronutrients.
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“Nutrition surveys and global health reports have it that anaemia affects about 68% of children under five in Nigeria, with zinc and iron deficiencies being major underlying causes. The national stunting prevalence among children under five in Nigeria is 37%,” he noted.
Kyari re-emphasized that zinc deficiency weakens immune systems, increasing the risk of infections, stunted growth, and delayed development in children, pointing out that inadequate dietary intake of zinc contributes to maternal health issues, poor birth outcomes, and reduced work capacity in adults.
In the new CAAP extension agreement, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Marcus Ogunbiyi told representatives of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), among other participants that CAADP is a continental commitment by Nigeria to accelerate agricultural transformation, strengthen food systems, promote climate resilience, enhance intra-African trade, empower women and youth, and improve livelihoods.
According to him, the project would build upon the gains and lessons of the Malabo Declaration while responding to emerging realities such as climate change, global food disruptions, insecurity, and economic pressures affecting agricultural production systems.
Ogunbiyi pointed out that CAAP implementation came at a very critical moment in the country’s national development journey, as agriculture remains central to economic diversification, employment generation, poverty reduction, industrial growth, and national stability.
He stressed that as Africa’s largest economy and one of the continent’s major agricultural producers, Nigeria still has the responsibility to align continental aspirations with practical national strategies to deliver measurable outcomes for farmers and citizens.
He explained that “the workshop provides an important platform for collective reflection, strategic engagement, and consensus-building toward the development of a robust and implementable Strategic Action Plan for Nigeria’’.
He tasked the stakeholders to ensure that ‘’the process must be inclusive, evidence-based, and result-oriented. It must also reflect the realities and priorities of our nation while aligning with regional and continental frameworks’’.
As part of his concerns in operationalization of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), he said the Fund was established to mobilise and channel long-term investments across agricultural value chains through a blend of public and private sector financing.
He further noted that the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has continued to strengthen the nation’s agricultural export ecosystem by improving export certification processes for 30 priority agro-commodities, thereby ensuring compliance with international phytosanitary standards and enhancing access to premium global markets.
The Permanent Secretary urged participants to contribute meaningfully by sharing practical ideas, experiences, and recommendations that will strengthen the Strategic Action Plan.
“We must collectively identify clear priorities, realistic implementation pathways, financing mechanisms, monitoring frameworks, and accountability structures that will ensure successful delivery over the next decade’’.
Earlier, Country Programme Leader, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Oliver Kirui, claimed that Nigeria, as one of Africa’s largest economies and agricultural producers, has a role to play in translating continental aspirations into practical national action
Kirui added that IFPRI would continue to support the ministry and other national stakeholders in leading the development of Nigeria’s CAADP Strategic Action Plan for the implementation of the Kampala Declaration.
