Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday launched the $500 million Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund, describing it as a strategic intervention to restore agriculture as a pillar of Nigeria’s economy, strengthen food security and reposition the Niger Delta as a leading food production hub.
The fund was unveiled at the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit in Abuja, jointly organised by the Office of the Vice President and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Speaking at the summit, Shettima said the initiative would mobilise private and public investments across the agricultural value chain, transforming the oil-rich Niger Delta into a thriving centre for agricultural production.
According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President said Nigeria’s economic prosperity before the discovery of crude oil was built on agriculture, stressing that no nation could guarantee lasting prosperity without securing its food supply.
“Agriculture is not only the foundation of civilisation but also the first guarantee of political stability. Before a people raise cities, they must learn to feed them, and before a state earns the loyalty of its citizens, it must secure their daily bread,” Shettima said.
He noted that the investment fund would operate as a commercially driven, returns-oriented financing vehicle targeting critical agricultural value chains, including aquaculture, palm oil, cassava, cocoa, rice, horticulture, livestock and marine resources.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s agricultural heritage, Shettima recalled that the groundnut pyramids of the North, cocoa plantations of the West and palm produce from the East and the Niger Delta financed the country’s early development, including the construction of schools, hospitals and other key public institutions.
He, however, lamented that the discovery of oil shifted national attention away from agriculture, fostering dependence on food imports instead of local production.
“The Niger Delta has instead chosen to return to an identity older than crude itself, for the palm oil of these creeks fuelled the commerce of continents long before the first barrel was drilled. It has chosen to transform this region, feed the nation and attract the world,” he said.
The Vice President disclosed that the newly inaugurated Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Council, which he chairs, would provide policy direction for the initiative, while the NDDC would serve as its secretariat.
Shettima said President Bola Tinubu had placed food security at the heart of his administration’s economic agenda from the outset, recalling the declaration of a state of emergency on food security in July 2023 to boost agricultural production, stabilise food markets and improve access to affordable food.
He highlighted several interventions under the administration, including the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, which aims to deploy 10,000 tractors over five years, the establishment of local tractor assembly plants, the John Deere Tractorisation Programme, the Greener Hope Project and the Green Imperative Programme.
According to him, the interventions are beginning to yield positive results, with the prices of several staple food items dropping significantly, some by as much as 50 per cent.
Calling for greater collaboration, Shettima urged investors, development partners and state governments to seize the opportunities presented by the fund.
“The fund is launched, the commitments are aligned, the council is constituted, and the pipeline awaits your conviction,” he said.
Earlier, the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, described agriculture as central to the Tinubu administration’s economic transformation agenda because of its potential to create jobs, stimulate investment and improve livelihoods.
He said the National Regional Development Policy recognised the comparative advantages of Nigeria’s regions and called for stronger collaboration among governments, development partners and the private sector to unlock the country’s vast agricultural potential.
Delivering the keynote address, Chairman of Origin Group, Prince Samuel Joseph, said the NDDC had been repositioned under the Tinubu administration to drive economic transformation in the Niger Delta.
He commended the Federal Government’s commitment to initiatives aimed at unlocking the region’s economic potential and improving the livelihoods of its people.
The Managing Director of the NDDC described the summit as the beginning of a long-term partnership to unlock the Niger Delta’s vast agricultural resources through strategic investments, innovation and collaboration.
He urged stakeholders to forge enduring partnerships capable of mobilising investment, creating jobs, strengthening food security and expanding economic opportunities across the region.
Also speaking, Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Chiedu Ebie, said the Niger Delta could no longer afford to remain a region of untapped potential.
According to him, the region’s young population deserves greater access to finance, technology, infrastructure and markets, while host communities must benefit from inclusive, sustainable and measurable development initiatives.
