By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.

The Federal Government has set a target of lifting all Nigerians out of poverty by 2030, even as it projects the creation of about 3.5 million direct jobs in the agricultural sector in 2026.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, disclosed this at the second biannual meeting of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and ActionAid Nigeria Agri-Food Systems Working Group in Abuja, at the Transcorp Hilton, on Thursday.

Bagudu said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had challenged the government to ensure that no Nigerian was left behind in the fight against poverty, stressing that food security, agriculture and inclusive economic growth remained central to the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He said, “Mr President has challenged us that by the year 2030, we have to lift all Nigerians out of poverty. We have to include everyone and secure our people.”

According to him, Nigeria’s agricultural sector is supported by more than 42 million agricultural households, most of which are small-scale, family-based production systems.

He said the Federal Government was determined to strengthen the agricultural system to enable farmers to feed themselves, achieve food security and produce surpluses for the wider population.

Bagudu said agriculture was a shared responsibility of the federal, state and local governments, adding that the government was pursuing institutional reforms and new initiatives to de-risk the sector, attract private investment and improve productivity.

He said the establishment of the Ministry of Livestock Development and the repositioning of fisheries under the blue and maritime economy were part of efforts to strengthen the country’s food security architecture.

The minister also stressed the need for greater application of science, technology and innovation in agriculture, saying modernising production systems would improve yields, profitability and farmers’ incomes.

He noted that agriculture remained largely a private-sector-driven activity, while government at all levels had a responsibility to provide the enabling environment, infrastructure, financing and policies required to make the sector more profitable and inclusive.

Bagudu, however, warned that Nigeria’s food system remained vulnerable to global shocks, including conflicts, rising energy prices, high fertiliser costs and trade distortions.

He said the government must guard against Nigeria becoming a dumping ground for subsidised agricultural products from other countries, adding that greater stakeholder cooperation was required to protect domestic production.

The minister also said progress was being made in restoring agricultural activities in previously insecure areas, citing Damasak in Borno State, where farming had resumed after years of disruption.

He said the development showed that improved security could unlock the enormous potential of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

Meanwhile, ActionAid Nigeria’s Country Director, Represented by Azubike Nwokoye, Food Systems Specialist, ActionAid said Nigeria could create about 3.5 million direct jobs in 2026 if the federal and state governments fully implemented their agricultural budget allocations.

Nwokoye said states could generate about 1.4 million direct jobs, while the Federal Government could create an additional 2.1 million direct jobs through increased investment in agriculture.

He, however, warned that the level of agricultural spending across the states remained inadequate, with several states recording low performance in capital expenditure.

According to him, the country must become more radical, bold and innovative in directing public expenditure towards strategic agricultural value chains.

He also said Nigeria was currently falling short of its commitment to allocate 10 per cent of public expenditure to agriculture under the Maputo, Malabo and Kampala agricultural frameworks.

Nwokoye disclosed that the 2026 allocation for agriculture by the states, including the FCT, stood at only 4.58 per cent, stressing the need for a supplementary budget and increased spending to meet the country’s commitments.

In his keynote address, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said Nigeria was at a critical juncture in its agricultural development, noting that the agri-food system supported the livelihoods of more than 70 per cent of the country’s population.

Kyari said the Federal Government was developing a comprehensive 10-year Agri-Food Systems Strategy and Action Plan in line with the African Union’s Kampala Declaration and President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He said the strategy, which was developed through extensive consultations across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, would be presented for adoption before being forwarded to the Federal Executive Council for approval.

The minister said the plan would focus on sustainable production, investment, food security, inclusivity, resilience and good governance.

He said the Kampala Declaration set ambitious targets, including increasing agri-food output, reducing post-harvest losses, expanding intra-African trade, improving access to healthy diets, reducing extreme poverty and mobilising $100 billion in public and private investment in Africa’s agri-food systems.

Kyari also highlighted some of the Federal Government’s agricultural interventions, including the financing of 500,000 farmers through 21 farmer aggregation companies, the distribution of two million bags of fertiliser and 34,000 metric tonnes of seeds.

He said the government’s target was to finance two million farmers during the wet and dry farming seasons.

The minister further disclosed that the National Agricultural Development Fund had distributed more than 500,000 bags of fertiliser to over 120,000 farmers across 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the fund had also disbursed more than N16 billion across various agricultural value chains and supported the development of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones.
According to Kyari, the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme has deployed 2,000 tractors and other equipment, while one million improved hybrid cocoa seedlings were distributed to boost Nigeria’s cocoa industry.

The Minister said the impact of the interventions was already being reflected in the reduction of food prices across the country.

The ECOWAS Commission represented by Marcus commended Nigeria for becoming the first country in West Africa to domesticate the Kampala Declaration.

The commission said Nigeria’s Agri-Food Systems Strategy and Action Plan would strengthen regional efforts to improve access to fertiliser, promote value-chain development, enhance food safety and expand intra-regional trade.

Also speaking, the GIZ Country Director, represented by the Head of Unit, Nelson Mbah, said the transformation of Nigeria’s agri-food system required collective action by government, development partners, the private sector and other stakeholders.

He said the strategy provided an opportunity to build shared ownership and ensure that the country moved from policy formulation to effective implementation.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Livestock development, Minister of Women Affairs, Minister of Youth development and government officials, development partners, civil society organisations, farmers’ groups and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.