Hussaini Umar
The Nigerian Government has commenced the validation of Nigeria’s National Agrifood System Strategy and Action Plan to align national and state agricultural investments with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration (2026–2035).
The Kampala Declaration commits African countries to accelerating agrifood transformation through increased investment, enhanced food security and climate-resilient agriculture, providing a continental framework for sustainable agricultural development across the continent.
Speaking at a National Validation Meeting in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, called on Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as State Governments, to align their annual budgets with the new blueprint to ensure effective domestication of the CAADP Kampala Declaration and eliminate fragmentation in agricultural spending.
Kyari said the Strategy was developed to build on the gains of the Maputo Declaration of 2003 and the Malabo Declaration of 2014, while adopting a more holistic agrifood systems-based approach.
“This validation meeting is essential, it is where the zero draft becomes stronger, more representative, and more actionable. We must ensure that every budget line, every program, and every intervention across government is aligned with the priorities of this Strategy,” he said.
The Minister noted that the document reflected inputs gathered through extensive consultations across the six geopolitical zones and a national workshop, making it responsive to Nigeria’s diverse agricultural realities.
“We wanted a plan that reflects the diversity of Nigeria’s agricultural landscape, from the livestock corridors of the North to the aquaculture belts of the South, from the cassava and yam zones of the East to the cocoa and oil palm plantations of the West,” the Minister explained.
According to him, the Strategy provides a harmonised implementation framework with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, timelines and accountability mechanisms.
He explained that it also integrates CAADP Biennial Review indicators into national planning, budgeting and reporting systems.
Speaking at the event, Food Systems Specialist at ActionAid Nigeria, Azubuike Nwokoye, said the organisation had demonstrated that agroecology could improve food production while building resilience against climate change.
He disclosed that through the Strategic Partnership for Agroecology and Climate Justice in West Africa, ActionAid had trained and supported more than 136,000 smallholder women farmers and young people in sustainable agricultural practices.
“We will undertake business case and return-on-investment analyses to help governments put more money in the right places in the agriculture sector towards food and nutrition security,” he said.
In his welcome remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Olaniyi Ogunbiyi, commended the Agricultural Sector Working Group and Technical Committee for driving the nationwide consultations that produced the zero draft.
According to him, the Strategy aligns Nigeria’s priorities with Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the CAADP Kampala Declaration, while building on ongoing government efforts in mechanisation, irrigation, value chain development, digitalisation of agricultural services and private-sector investment.
Ogunbiyi said the validation exercise was aimed at critically examining proposed interventions, identifying gaps and strengthening implementation frameworks.
He further explained that the success of the Strategy would depend on effective implementation, adequate financing, robust monitoring and evaluation, strong institutional coordination and sustained political commitment.
“Our vision is to build an agrifood system that is productive, competitive, climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive, digitally enabled, market-oriented and attractive to our young people. Our objective is to ensure that no Nigerian goes hungry and that agriculture remains profitable for our farmers and agribusinesses,” Ogunbiyi said.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Agriculture in Osun State, Mr. Tola Faseru, said state governments would work assiduously towards implementing the Kampala Declaration, which aligns with the agricultural transformation agenda of the current administration.
He stressed the need to involve women and youth in agrifood systems to boost food production and generate greater economic value.
The validation meeting was attended by representatives of state governments, development partners, the private sector, civil society organisations and farmer groups.
