Nigeria is advancing toward food sovereignty through a combination of innovative policies, international partnerships, and support for local production.

Agriculture minister Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this on Thursday in Kaduna at the closing of the 47th National Council on Agriculture and Food Security.

He said agriculture remains Nigeria’s largest employer of labour, contributing over one-quarter of the nation’s GDP, and described it as the foundation of national renewal and resilience.

Mr Kyari said early results of government interventions were encouraging, with food prices beginning to decline across several commodities.

He stated that the federal government had strengthened the National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro-Pocket, supported by the African Development Bank and state governments, to provide farmers with affordable inputs.

According to him, wheat cultivation has expanded beyond the 15 states covered last season, with rainfed farming now introduced in Plateau, Taraba, and Cross River.

“With rainfed wheat now viable, Nigeria is moving closer to all-year farming and self-sufficiency in production,” he said.

The minister also unveiled the Nigeria Postharvest Systems Transformation Programme, developed in collaboration with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, to address post-harvest losses estimated at $10 billion annually.

He said the programme would equip farmers with climate-smart storage tools and upgrade processing hubs and national silos through public-private partnerships.

Earlier, Governor Uba Sani said agriculture has become both a “moral and economic imperative” for his administration.

He said Kaduna raised its agriculture budget from N1.48 billion in 2023 to N74 billion in 2025, a 5,000 per cent increase surpassing the Malabo Declaration’s 10 per cent target.

“We are the nation’s leading producer of ginger, maize, and grapes, and second in soybeans,” said Mr Sani. “Beyond statistics lies the story of a resilient people whose toil sustains Nigeria.”

He said the state distributed over 900 trucks of fertiliser across 23 local councils, supported livestock producers, and enrolled more than 100,000 farmers in crop insurance schemes.

“Peace has returned to lands once gripped by fear. We are reclaiming 20,000 hectares with irrigation systems to enable all-season farming,” he added.

Also speaking, the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Marcus Ogunbiyi, said the meeting’s theme reflected President Bola Tinubu’s resolve to place food at the centre of economic renewal.

“True national strength begins with the ability to feed ourselves. Food sovereignty is about more than availability; it’s about sustainable control over our food systems,” he said.

(NAN)