Nigeria holds vast farmland and a youthful population, yet the country remains trapped in a costly paradox.
Every year, Nigeria spends over $10 billion importing food — staples such as wheat, rice, sugar, fish, and even tomato paste.
On Tuesday in Lagos, at the First Bank of Nigeria’s 2025 Agric and Export Expo, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, confronted the issue through his adviser, Ibrahim Alkali.
He revealed figures that shocked the audience: a nation with 85 million hectares of arable land and millions of young people still fails to feed itself.
Food Sovereignty Push
Kyari declared, “Agriculture contributes 35% of our GDP and employs a third of our workforce.
Yet, Nigeria earns less than $400 million from agro-exports — less than half a per cent of the global share.”
Therefore, he argued, Nigeria’s challenge lies not in land or labour but in weak systems — poor financing, fragile infrastructure, and limited value addition.
Linking his message to President Bola Tinubu’s agenda, Kyari reaffirmed the government’s push for food sovereignty.
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He insisted that Nigerians must eat from their own soil and shield themselves from global supply shocks.
Consequently, he pressed for stronger agricultural financing as the key to unlocking this vision.
Financing The Future
He stressed, “Boosting domestic production and driving exports are inseparable goals.
We must shift from oil rigs to resilient food systems, from raw commodity exports to value-added agribusiness, and from scattered farmer credit to structured financial systems that attract significant capital.”
To move forward, Kyari urged Nigerians to adopt innovative strategies.
He recommended revenue-sharing models, performance-linked financing, forward contracts, and pay-as-harvest schemes.
Then, he reminded the audience, “These are not theories; successful economies already use them.”
In conclusion, Kyari warned that unless Nigeria strengthens its financing and systems, the nation will continue draining billions on food imports instead of turning its natural wealth into prosperity.
