STATEMENT BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY, SEN. DR. ALIYU SABI ABDULLAHI, CON, ON THE OCCASION OF WORLD FOOD DAY 2026
I join Nigerians and the global community to commemorate World Food Day 2026, themed “Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow.”
This theme captures the fundamental reality that tomorrow’s food security will be determined by today’s innovations.
On this occasion, I restate the Federal Government’s unwavering commitment to ensuring food security for all Nigerians.
Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, we are implementing a comprehensive approach to transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector into a productive, resilient, competitive and investment-driven sector capable of feeding our population and contributing substantially to economic growth.
Our approach is anchored on producing more food, reducing food losses, strengthening agricultural value chains and enabling farmers to produce profitably, through interventions across the entire value chain from research and inputs to storage, processing, financing, marketing and consumption, in collaboration with State Governments, farmers’ organizations, development partners, research institutions, financial institutions and the private sector.
I am pleased to report that our reforms are yielding results. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), agriculture is back on a strong growth trajectory for the first time since 2021, with the sector recording 4.39% overall growth in the second quarter of 2026 and crop production expanding by 3.66%.
This growth is evidence that our reforms and investments are making impact.
Through the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP), in just four farming seasons, we have supported smallholder farmers to produce 2.5 million metric tonnes of staple foods.
Nigeria’s annual domestic wheat production has also risen to approximately 420,000 metric tonnes, representing a 3.5-fold increase from the previous baseline of 120,000 metric tonnes.
We have moved from rhetoric to action on mechanization with the commissioning of the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanization Programme with 2,000 tractors and implements, to make farming more efficient, less labour-intensive and attractive to our youth.
Other interventions include the commencement of soil mapping under the National Soil Health and Fertility Programme, promotion of bio-fortified crops, and revitalization of extension services with newly trained frontline agents and digital e-extension platforms linked to the National Farmers Registry harmonized with NIN.
Government is decisively tackling high prices at the source through aggressive dry-season farming, investments in Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), storage and cold-chain facilities to cut post-harvest losses from 40% to under 20%, combined with orderly release from the Strategic Food Reserve and a Guaranteed Minimum Price.
We are also promoting climate-smart agriculture, expanding irrigation, repositioning the Bank of Agriculture for affordable financing, and strengthening agricultural insurance and pest surveillance.
Furthermore, the implementation of the National Cooperative Identity Reform under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP 2030) will transform Nigeria’s cooperative ecosystem into a credible, transparent and bankable economic bloc. The Programme, unanimously approved by the 8th National Council on Cooperative Affairs in March 2026, provides a seven-pillar reform framework covering legal and regulatory reform, digitalization and data management, cooperative finance, capacity building, enterprise growth, socio-economic inclusion and strategic partnerships.
While we acknowledge insecurity in some major food-producing belts in Northern Nigeria, Government is addressing it through deployment more personnel security of Army, Civil Defense, Agro-rangers, to protect farmlands and enhanced collaboration between security agencies and farming communities.
Food security is a collective responsibility and I appreciate the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other partners for their continued support.
We remain resolute in building a sector capable of feeding the nation and driving economic growth.
Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, CON
Honourable Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security
16th October, 2026
