By Rukayat Moisemhe
The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) and agriculture stakeholders have called for stronger innovation, investment, and policy reforms to build a resilient sector and secure Nigeria’s path to food security.
They made the call at the NBCC Agriculture and Agro-Allied Summit 2026 with the theme: “Ensuring Food Security in Nigeria: Innovations, Investments and Policy for a Resilient Future”, on Thursday in Lagos.
The President of NBCC, Mr Abimbola Olashore, said Nigeria was at a defining moment where food security had evolved beyond an agricultural concern to become a central pillar of economic stability, national security and social well-being.
Olashore said although Nigeria was richly endowed with vast arable land, a youthful population and entrepreneurial capacity, the country continued to face significant barriers to achieving sustainable food security.
According to him, climate variability, supply chain inefficiencies, limited mechanisation, post-harvest losses and restricted access to finance remain major challenges confronting the sector.
“However, these challenges also present opportunities for reform and transformation through climate-smart agriculture, digital tools, improved market access and stronger agricultural value chains.
“Policy reform remains central to our collective ambition. Improving access to agricultural finance, strengthening land use systems, reducing post-harvest losses through infrastructure investment and enhancing agro-processing capacity must remain priorities,” he said.
Olashore also urged Nigeria to leverage emerging global trade opportunities such as the United Kingdom’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme to expand agro-exports and strengthen integration into global value chains.
He reaffirmed NBCC’s commitment to advancing bilateral trade and investment between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, especially in strategic sectors such as agriculture.
“Through structured partnerships, knowledge exchange, and private sector collaboration, we believe Nigeria can unlock its full agricultural potential and move closer to achieving lasting food security,” he said.
Retired Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Olayiwole Onasanya, said between 30.6 million and 35 million Nigerians were facing acute food insecurity as of late 2025 and early 2026.
Onasanya attributed the crisis to conflict, high food inflation and climate shocks, particularly in the North-East and North-West regions.
He said government interventions, including agricultural financing and recapitalisation of development finance institutions, had recorded mixed outcomes due to insecurity, inflation and global conflicts.
According to him, the Federal Government approved a N1.5 trillion recapitalisation for the Bank of Agriculture and an additional N250 billion low-interest loan facility for farmers.
He also disclosed plans to recapitalise the Bank of Industry (BoI) with three trillion naira.
Onasanya noted that Nigeria has continued to record post-harvest losses of between 30 and 40 per cent for perishable goods due to poor storage facilities, weak transportation systems and inadequate market linkages.
“With Nigeria’s population projected to hit 400 million by 2050, food production must increase by over 250 per cent.
“This requires massive investments and stronger collaboration among the three tiers of government,” he said.
He advocated a 10-year agricultural master plan driven by a value-chain approach and involving all stakeholders in the sector.
Onasanya also called for land reforms, expansion of irrigation infrastructure, mechanisation, agricultural insurance and transition from subsistence farming to agribusiness-driven production systems.
“My final advice is that it is time to develop a 10-year master-plan for agriculture, since the sector will not thrive on emergency interventions.
“Developing a master-plan is not just a job for government officials, university experts or just consultants. It involves all stakeholders in the agricultural sector and must be implemented using the value chain approach,” he said.
The Founder, Babban Gona, Mr Kola Masha, described Nigeria as being at a critical crossroads, noting that while agriculture contributed about 30 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, productivity growth remained slower than population growth.
Masha warned that rising youth unemployment and insecurity posed significant threats to national stability, adding that more than 80 million young Nigerians would seek jobs within the next 20 years.
He said Babban Gona had developed an “Agri-Finance as a Service” ecosystem model that provided farmers with access to financing, training and guaranteed markets.
According to him, the model empowers agro-processors to build networks of independent and locally-led farming enterprises.
Masha challenged stakeholders to unlock $150 billion annually to empower farmers and transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
The Founder of Johnvents Group, Mr John Alamu, said Nigeria’s food crisis was driven by systemic and interconnected factors including insecurity, climate vulnerability, post-harvest losses, economic shocks and underinvestment.
Alamu said the solutions to the crisis already existed but required stronger political will, coordination and capital deployment at scale.
He called for trade policies that would protect local farmers while promoting intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“The British-Nigerian business corridor represented in this chamber has a real and urgent role to play.
“British expertise in agri-technology, agri-financing, food processing and supply chain management, combined with Nigerian market scale, is a partnership whose time has come,” he said.
The Chairman, NBCC Agriculture and Agro-Allied Committee, Aare Kamarudeen Danjuma, said food security was no longer merely a development goal but a national priority directly tied to economic stability and social resilience.
Danjuma noted that Nigeria faced a complex mix of challenges including climate change, supply chain disruptions, financing gaps, post-harvest losses and evolving policy landscapes.
According to him, the sector must evolve from subsistence farming to commercially viable, technology-driven and export-oriented agribusiness models.(NAN)
Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma
