Vice-President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Tinubu’s administration is introducing single-window platforms for land registration, strengthening agricultural credit systems, expanding irrigation infrastructure, and scaling mechanisation.
Shettima said this in Abuja on Tuesday during the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) National and Subregional Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum.
He announced fresh incentives to boost agricultural investment under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, it is part of ongoing reforms to unlock Nigeria’s vast food production potential through new policies that serve as a game-changer for agriculture and infrastructure investments in the country.
He stated that hunger poses a global security issue, adding that Nigeria must mobilise its strengths to secure a future of abundance.
“Nothing unifies humanity as much as hunger. It is the great equaliser that reveals our vulnerabilities and the shared fragility of our existence.
“Food is not merely a matter of survival, it is a matter of global security. We must facilitate access to land and resources for serious investors.
“We must drive mechanisation to reduce drudgery and enhance productivity. We must strengthen the agricultural credit system to ensure capital flows to where it is needed most,” he said.
Shettima, who described irrigation as a game-changer, observed that Nigeria has river basins and aquifers capable of irrigating over three million hectares but currently uses less than ten per cent.
“Strategic investment in irrigation alone could triple yields, free us from seasonal dependency, and fortify our resilience against climate shocks,” he added.
The Vice-President also assured investors that Nigeria’s policies are being re-engineered to attract capital through regulatory reforms, public-private partnerships, and agri-tech innovation.
“Nigeria is open for business, and we are ready to partner with you.
“Let us work hand-in-hand to build a Nigeria and a subregion where no one goes to bed hungry, where rural communities are hubs of wealth creation, and where agriculture is the true foundation of our prosperity,” Shettima said.
According to him, Nigeria is open for business and ready to partner with relevant stakeholders and investors in implementing its national blueprint targeted at creating 21 million full-time jobs in rural and agrarian communities.
“While securing national food and nutrition sufficiency, the vehicle to this future is the quality of policies we have chosen to prioritise. At the top of these interventions stands our National Development Plan (2021–2025), which has set forth ambitious but achievable targets.
“This blueprint seeks to lift 35 million Nigerians out of poverty, create 21 million full-time jobs in rural and agrarian communities, and secure national food and nutrition sufficiency through deliberate and strategic investments in agriculture,” he added.
Earlier, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, highlighted key challenges and potential for investment across the agribusiness value chain.
He said a combination of Nigeria’s domestic market, large arable land, clement weather and fast growing digital economy, presents unique opportunities for investment across the agribusiness ecosystem.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu, said the economic potential of Nigeria remained largely untapped especially in agriculture and irrigation.
According to him, irrigation holds significant promise for economic diversification and transformation.
He noted that agriculture, particularly agribusiness, remains a pivotal component of Nigeria’s national development plan in the medium and long term, as well as the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu.
For his part, Dr Demba Sabally, the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security of The Gambia, commended the FAO for hosting the event and Nigeria’s leadership in agriculture.
He highlighted the country’s success stories in the rice and cassava value chains as worthy of emulation by countries in the sub-region and beyond.
He emphasised the need for peer review among countries in the West African sub-region because of their common challenges and opportunities for growth and transformation.
The representative of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dr Hussein Gadain, said the Hand-in-Hand Initiative is FAO’s “evidence-based, country-led, and country-owned flagship programme.
“The programme is designed to accelerate agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development. It is squarely aimed at eradicating poverty, ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition, and reducing inequalities.”
He commended Nigeria’s clear agricultural development priorities and described them as catalysts for transformative and sustainable growth within Africa’s agri-food systems.
He hailed the Vice-President Shettima’s genuine commitment and visionary leadership in transforming Nigeria’s agri-food systems.
