The Food and Agriculture Organisation, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, has officially inaugurated the 2025 Nigeria Food and Agriculture Policy Monitoring Review.

This initiative, announced in Abuja on Wednesday, aims at guiding evidence-based agricultural transformation under the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy.

This was noted in a statement signed by Chukwuka Nwachukwu, communication expert, FAO Nigeria; Kev Castillo, programme development, partnerships and communications lead, FAO; and David Tsokar, communications specialist, FAO Nigeria.

The PMR was developed with technical support from FAO’s Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies programme and presents a comprehensive analysis of public expenditure and commodity price incentives over multiple years.

‘This offers critical insights to inform policy implementation and investment planning,” they said.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, stated that credible research results would support the government’s expenditure and resource allocation. He said that the timing of the report release was apt, particularly now when the Federal Ministry of Finance and Budget Planning was preparing the 2026 budget proposal.

“We must secure our future through food security; increasing yields and improving nutrition are central to our agenda. The MAFAP analysis provides policymakers and development partners with a clear direction for targeted investment and impactful reforms,” Mr Kyari said.

Hussein Gadain, the FAO representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, reiterated the need to strengthen the strategic partnership between FAO and the Nigerian government.

“The landmark policy review reflects our shared commitment to transforming Nigeria’s agricultural sector. The PMR highlights key trends and challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural policy landscape,” he said.

He called for increased funding in the agriculture sector.

“While nominal agricultural spending increased between 2015 and 2021, it remained at just two per cent of federal expenditure, far below the 10 per cent commitment outlined in the 2025 Kampala Declaration,” he said. 

 (NAN)