The Federal Government (FG) has received the final report of the National Technical Working Group (NTWG) for the World Bank-supported $500 million Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains for Growth (AGROW) Programme, marking the completion of the initiative’s design phase and the beginning of full implementation.
Vice President Kashim Shettima received the report during a briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, where he said the programme would reconnect Nigerian farmers with national economic planning and policymaking.
Shettima explained that one of the major challenges facing Nigeria’s agricultural sector has been the disconnect between farmers working on the land and policymakers assessing the impact of their contributions to the economy.
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He said the AGROW report “restores the farmer to the centre of our national economic reasoning, where he has always belonged”.
He added that the programme was designed to reflect local agricultural realities, operate through state governments, and attract private investment to transform farming from subsistence activities into commercial-scale production.
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Shettima noted that agriculture contributes 23 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides livelihoods for about 34 per cent of the country’s workforce.
He stressed that a sector supporting millions of Nigerians must receive adequate attention and investment.
He added that improved agricultural productivity would help reduce food prices, increase rural incomes, provide raw materials for industries, and ease pressure on urban areas and foreign exchange reserves.
“When yields rise, food prices ease, rural incomes recover, industries receive raw materials, and the pressure on our cities and foreign reserves begins to relax. When yields fall, the entire economy discovers the price of hunger,” Shettima said.
Under the programme, $355 million, representing 71 per cent of the total $500 million funding, will be implemented directly through participating states.
Shettima said 32 states participated in seven zonal consultations that helped shape the final design of the programme, describing the development as evidence of strong interest among states to reform the agricultural sector.
However, he acknowledged that the funding alone would not address years of challenges affecting infrastructure, technology, extension services, processing capacity, and market access, stressing the need for increased private sector investment.
Following the submission of the final report, Shettima approved the dissolution of the NTWG after completing its assignment.
Responsibility for overseeing the programme has now shifted to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, which will serve as Chair of the National Steering Committee and host the Project Coordination Office.
He also commended the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) for coordinating the design process and serving as the secretariat of the technical group.
State governments also expressed their commitment to ensuring the success of the programme.
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, said governors had been briefed by the World Bank during a Nigerian Governors’ Forum meeting and remained committed to maximising the benefits of the initiative.
Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Hadiza Balarabe, announced that the state would establish a dedicated coordination mechanism to support implementation, noting that Kaduna already allocates more than 13 per cent of its budget to agriculture.
Members of the Federal Executive Council and international partners also reaffirmed their support for the programme.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said AGROW goes beyond food production, describing it as a key initiative for achieving macroeconomic stability, creating jobs, and driving structural transformation.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, praised Shettima’s leadership in coordinating stakeholders and assured that the ministry would remain committed to achieving the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
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Kyari said the next phase would involve completing the borrowing plan, financing agreements, and legal processes required to finalise the transition into implementation.
The World Bank Programme Leader for AGROW, Bertine Kamphuis, commended the coordination efforts of President Bola Tinubu and Shettima, assuring Nigeria of the bank’s continued support in improving food security and reducing poverty.
She also stressed the importance of creating policies that would encourage private sector participation and attract financial institutions, including the Bank of Agriculture, to support the programme.
Providing details on the technical process behind AGROW, the Technical Adviser to the Vice President on Agriculture and Executive Secretary of the PFSCU, Marion Moon, said the NTWG developed an eight-indicator framework to identify priority agricultural value chains.
She explained that the framework adopted an agroecological approach by aligning crop choices and investments with Nigeria’s varying soil conditions, rainfall patterns, and growing environments across participating regions.
