By Felicia Imohimi
Stakeholders have reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) through increased investment, scalable agribusinesses and inclusive food systems in Nigeria.
The commitment was made at a Partners’ Roundtable Dialogue on the CAADP 2026–2035 Agenda on Thursday in Abuja.
The dialogue, themed “From Policy to Enterprise: Translating CAADP into Scalable Agribusiness Opportunities in Nigeria”, focused on bridging the gap between policy frameworks and enterprise-level execution.
Ms Kachi Nwachukwu, Programme Manager at African Food Changemakers (AFC), said Nigeria had signed several agricultural policies, including CAADP, but faced challenges in translating them into action.
She identified key constraints as limited access to finance, fragmented markets, weak value chain integration and climate-related risks.
Nwachukwu said there was a need for blended finance models, stronger partnerships between financial institutions and agribusinesses, and inclusive financing for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially women and rural entrepreneurs.
She added that AFC was supporting agribusinesses through programmes focused on export readiness, market access and enterprise development.
Also, Mr Azeez Salawu, Founder, Community Action for Food Security (CAFS) and co-convener of the roundtable, said the CAADP 2026–2035 strategy provided a renewed framework for transforming Africa’s agrifood systems.
He said the strategy aimed to drive sustainable growth, strengthen food and nutrition security, and build resilient economies.
According to him, key priorities include boosting investment, promoting agro-industrialisation and trade, advancing inclusivity, and strengthening agrifood systems governance.
Salawu, however, noted a gap in translating CAADP priorities into scalable, investment-ready agribusiness opportunities.
“Agribusinesses, particularly SMEs and youth-led enterprises, are central to achieving CAADP outcomes, yet they face constraints in accessing finance, markets, technical support and trade opportunities,” he said.
He added that rising food insecurity, climate shocks, youth unemployment and nutrition challenges required coordinated and well-financed action, with greater focus on enterprise development.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that participants included representatives of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, civil society organisations, development partners and private sector actors.
The dialogue also provided a platform to connect development partners with scalable agribusiness pipelines, including youth-led enterprises, to drive inclusive growth, job creation and trade.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Tosin Kolade
