The federal government has commended the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) for its Soil Values Programme and its contributions to agricultural development in Nigeria.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement, Kingsley Uzoma, gave the commendation at the opening of the three-day 2026 National Work Plan for Agriculture Development in Abuja.

The workshop brought together about 50 participants from Kano, Jigawa and Bauchi states.

It is sponsored by IFDC through its Soil Values Programme, a DGIS-funded initiative.

The three states are the pilot areas for the programme in Nigeria.

Mr Uzoma reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the transformation of the agricultural sector.

He stated, “Because of the peculiarities of our environment, the Savannah and Sahel regions have suffered extensive degradation, rendering millions of hectares of agricultural land unproductive. That is why the government is very happy with what the Soil Values Programme has come to do.’’

He also highlighted the contributions of the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Project (L-PRES) and Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL), alongside other initiatives, to agricultural development.

Mr Uzoma emphasised that the federal government is committed to working with partners at all levels to secure the future of the agricultural sector.

He added that the government is ready to extend partnerships across diverse platforms to drive agricultural transformation and ensure food security.

Country Coordinator, Soil Values Programme Nigeria, Medinah Ayuba-Fagbemi, said Sahelian countries, including Nigeria, were grappling with recurrent droughts, desertification, socio-political conflicts and the effects of climate change.

“These challenges, compounded by inadequate investment and weak financing mechanisms, have led to declining soil fertility, land degradation and food insecurity. Soil Values is now changing this narrative,” she said.

She explained that the programme is designed to restore two million hectares of farmland while strengthening the resilience and well-being of 1.5 million farmers, with a particular focus on women and youth.

According to her, the initiative promotes Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) and participatory landscape management to encourage sustainable farming practices across communities.

She said, “The programme is being implemented by IFDC in collaboration with SNV, Wageningen University and Research (WUR), and supported by knowledge partners such as AGRA, CIFOR-ICRAF, IITA, ISRIC and IWMI.”

She reaffirmed the commitment of the Soil Values Programme Nigeria to tackling land degradation, boosting agricultural productivity and ensuring food security in the country through the 2026 National Work Plan for Agriculture Development.

Also speaking, National Programme Coordinator of L-PRES, Sanusi Abubakar, said the project had successfully completed its medication and crisis prevention component, describing it as a major pillar of its mandate.

He said. “This achievement is not just a milestone but also a strong foundation for the sustainability of our broader objectives. We are deliberately working with Africans who have established companies in the ranching and soil value chain, with the aim of creating lasting opportunities along the livestock sector. This remains one of the major projects we are advancing at the moment, and it speaks directly to our mandate of productivity and resilience.’’

According to him, the partnerships reflect a vision of building bridges that will translate into real benefits for communities and the agricultural ecosystem.

Earlier, the National Programme Coordinator of ACReSAL, Abdulhamid Umar, commended the collaboration among the various initiatives aimed at boosting agriculture at the grassroots.

He thanked the federal government, the World Bank and other donor agencies for supporting efforts to improve soil yields across the country.
(NAN)