Nigeria has received the final report of the National Technical Working Group on the World Bank supported 500 million dollar Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains for Growth Programme, marking the end of its design phase and the start of implementation.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, receiving the report at a State House briefing in Abuja, said the programme is meant to close the gap between farmers and national economic planning, describing the report as the conclusion of a design process that restores farmers to the center of national economic reasoning. He said the programme, developed through seven zonal consultations involving 32 states, reflects growing commitment from state governments to take on greater responsibility for agricultural productivity, infrastructure and market development.
Shettima said agriculture, which accounts for 23 percent of Nigeria’s GDP and sustains 34 percent of its workforce, cannot be treated as a marginal sector, noting that rising yields ease food prices, lift rural incomes and supply industry with raw materials, while falling yields expose the whole economy to the cost of hunger. He said of the 500 million dollar financing envelope, 355 million dollars, or 71 percent, will be implemented through participating states, placing state governments at the center of delivery, though he acknowledged that the funding falls short of the scale needed to close decades of gaps in extension services, infrastructure and market access.
He formally accepted the report and approved the dissolution of the technical working group, with responsibility now passing to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security as chair of the programme’s national steering committee. He also credited the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit for coordinating the design process.
Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule said state governors were briefed on the programme’s objectives by the World Bank at a earlier governors’ forum meeting and pledged their support, while Kaduna State Deputy Governor Hadiza Balarabe said her state would establish a coordination mechanism for timely implementation, noting Kaduna already allocates more than 13 percent of its budget to agriculture.
Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele thanked project partners for their commitment, saying the programme extends beyond food production to touch Nigeria’s broader economic transformation and job creation goals. Minister of Agriculture Abubakar Kyari praised Shettima for leading stakeholder mobilization and said the ministry is committed to implementing the programme in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda, with attention now shifting to finalizing the borrowing plan and financing agreement.
World Bank Programme Leader Bertine Kamphuis said the bank remains committed to supporting Nigeria in translating the programme into improved food security and poverty reduction, while Technical Advisor to the Vice President on Agriculture, Marion Moon, said the working group developed an eight indicator framework to identify priority value chains using an agro ecological approach matching crops to local soil and climate conditions, drawing on seven zonal consultations with 32 states.
