The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has reiterated the federal government’s commitment to transforming agriculture as a driver of food security and inclusive prosperity.

Mr Kyari spoke on Thursday at the Combined National Project Steering Committee (NPSC) Meeting in Abuja.

The minister said the NPSC is “a strategic committee that sits at the intersection of policy authority, development financing, and the national imperative to secure the nation’s food systems.”

Mr Kyari said the ministry would exercise its oversight mandate with “renewed firmness, zero tolerance for inefficiency, and uncompromising accountability.”

“The era of business-as-usual is over. Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, programmes must be aligned, performance must be measurable, and outcomes must be visible to the Nigerian people,” he said.

Mr Kyari said the ministry had taken “a decisive institutional step to elevate the authority and effectiveness of the Projects Coordinating Unit (PCU) to a full-fledged department of Development Partnership Projects.”

“This is not a cosmetic adjustment. It is a deliberate restructuring to strengthen supervision, tighten coordination, enforce standards, and entrench results-based management across all development partner-supported programmes.

“The message is simple: projects must perform, or they will be restructured,” he said.

He warned that Annual Workplans and Budgets (AWPB) approvals would no longer be routine.

“Every proposal before us must demonstrate clear alignment with national priorities, food security, productivity enhancement, value chain development, youth engagement, and inclusive economic growth.

“These are not optional goals; they are the core pillars of the Renewed Hope Agenda. Budgets must speak to impact, not intentions. Activities must deliver value, not volume,” Mr Kyari added.

He assured the committee of the ministry’s continued commitment to providing coordination, oversight, and institutional support to all development partners and supported programmes.

“Let me reiterate the commitment of the federal government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, to transforming the agricultural sector as a key driver of food security, economic diversification, and inclusive prosperity,” he said.

Earlier, Marcus Ogunbiyi, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said the committee remained “the apex oversight and governance platform for development partner–supported projects under the Ministry of Agriculture.”

Mr Ogunbiyi appreciated Mr Kyari for his leadership and strategic direction in steering the ministry’s engagement with the Renewed Hope Agenda in advancing national food security, agricultural productivity, and rural transformation.

(NAN)