Nigeria has a food security problem as water for crops is harder to find

After two decades of working his farm in northwestern Nigeria, Umaru Muazu now struggles to find water for his crops.

A murky puddle is all that remains of a river near his 5-hectare farm and those of others in this community in arid Sokoto state. Because the 62-year-old Muazu can’t afford to dig a well to keep crops like millet and maize from withering, he might abandon farming.

“Before, with a small farm, you could get a lot,” he said.

Climate change is challenging agriculture in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. With long dry spells and extreme heat, water bodies are drying because the arid season is becoming longer than usual. The wet season, though it can dump excessive rain, is short.

It’s fresh pain in a country where the World Food Program says 31 million people already face food insecurity. Efforts to recover from one climate shock are overlapped by the next, said WFP spokesperson Chi Lael.

The challenges faced by farmers in the north, who account for most of what Nigeria eats, are affecting food prices and availability in the booming coastal south that’s home to the megacity of Lagos.

More than 80% of Nigeria’s farmers are smallholder farmers, who account for 90% of the country’s annual agricultural production. Some work their fields with little more than a piece of roughly carved wood and their bare hands.

Farmers are facing low yields because the government has failed to develop infrastructure like dams to help mitigate the effects of climate change, said Daniel Obiora, national president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria.

There is little data available on the drying-up of smaller water bodies across the north. But farmers say the trend has been worsening.

In Adamawa state, water scarcity caused by higher temperatures and changing rain patterns has affected over 1,250 hectares (3,088 acres) of farmland, disrupting food supply and livelihoods, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said last year.

Over-extraction of water and deforestation are other factors contributing to northern Nigeria’s drying rivers, according to Abdulsamad Isah, co-founder of local Extension Africa nonprofit that often works with farmers.

Elsewhere in Sokoto state, Nasiru Bello tilled his farm to cultivate onions without assurance of a meaningful harvest. With nearby rivers and wells drying up, he has resorted to pumping groundwater for the farm that provides the sole income for his family of 26. But the cost of pumping amid soaring gas prices has become unbearable.

“The plants do not grow well as it did,” he said.

Nigeria is forecast to become the world’s third most populous nation by 2025, alongside the United States and after India and China.

With Nigeria’s population expected to reach 400 million by 2050, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has been encouraging climate-smart agriculture to help ensure food security, including drip irrigation, which delivers water slowly and directly to roots and helps conserve water, instead of traditional irrigation systems that flood entire fields.

“There should be more orientation for farmers about climate change,” said Yusuf Isah Sokoto, director of the College of Environmental Science at Sokoto’s Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic.

At least two-thirds of the trees in the state have been lost due to deforestation, contributing to rising temperatures, Sokoto said.

Data from the government-run statistics agency show that local agriculture contributed 22% of Nigeria’s GDP in the second quarter of 2024, down from 25% in the previous quarter. While the trend has fluctuated in recent years, experts have said agricultural production still does not reflect growing government investment in the sector.

Household food imports, meanwhile, rose by 136% from 2023 to 2024, government statistics show.

The decreasing farm yields are being felt elsewhere in Nigeria, especially the south.

In Lagos, the price of several items grown in the north have nearly doubled in the last two years, partly due to decreasing supplies. A head of cabbage grown in the north is selling for 2,000 naira ($1.2), nearly double its price a year ago and more than five times the price in Sokoto.

Nigerian authorities acknowledge the problem. Many farmers who once harvested up to 10 tons are hardly able to get half that these days, agriculture minister Aliyu Abdullahi said earlier this year.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and his government have touted agriculture as a means for economic prosperity. Shortly after he took office in May 2023, Tinubu’s government declared a food security state of emergency and announced plans to activate 500,000 hectares of farmland in Nigeria’s land banks, which are mostly in the north.

The land banks, however, are yet to be activated.

By Dyepkazah Shibayan, The Associated Press

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Nigeria acquires $134 million loan for farming investment

Nigeria has secured a loan of $134 million (€127 million) to invest in farming, Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari announced on Thursday.

President Bola Tinubu's government has previously said that boosting food security is a goal of his administration.
 

What did the government say about the plan?

Kyari said in a post on social media that the plan aimed "to boost productivity in key staple crops, including wheat, rice, and maize, for both dry and wet season farming."

He said that Nigeria's federal government planned to "provide subsidized agricultural inputs to 250,000 wheat farmers and 150,000 rice farmers this season" as part of its agricultural support program.

The minister said the government would "establish a minimum guarantee price for crops, helping to stabilize farmers' incomes and reduce reliance on imports."

The $134 million loan was secured from the African Development Bank.
 

Nigeria faces food crisis

Around 25 million Nigerians face "acute food insecurity," according to figures from the Cadre Harmonise — a tool for assessing food security. This number is expected to rise to 33 million in 2025.

The report cited the economic effects of the continuous devaluation of the Nigerian currency, the naira, against the dollar and Tinubu's decision last year to abolish a fuel subsidy that had been in place for decades. In June of this year, annual food-price inflation was recorded at 40.9%.

Northern Nigeria has become increasingly arid due to climate change and deforestation while violence and desertification have sparked conflicts between farming communities and nomadic herdsmen.

Last month, 1.6 million hectares of farmland were destroyed in central Nigeria by torrential rains.Western and central African countries were also hit by flooding in September.

DW

Nigeria ranks first in cassava production, yet imports

Although Nigeria is ranked number one in cassava production globally, she imported about $54, 200 in cassava in 2022, becoming the 121st largest importer of cassava in the world.

This was disclosed at the Ist National Conference of Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria (ICSAN) titled “The Golden Crop: Harnessing the Economic Potential of Cassava for National Development through Industrialization,” which held at Ikeja, Lagos.

Delivering a keynote address at the conference on the theme, Prof. Lateef Oladimeji Sanni, President, International Society for Tropical Root Crops, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Executive Director, Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, Ilorin and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, also said Nigeria exported $733, 000 in cassava in the same year, making it the 61st largest exporter of cassava in the world.

After the President of ICSAN, Mr. Segun Ladele, gave the opening address, Prof Oladimeji further gave an insight into the cassava industry and its significance to Nigeria’s economy.

He defined industrialization as “the mass production of goods in a factory system, which involves some degree of mechanized production technology,” saying industrialisation enables the business environment, promotes private sector leadership, facilitates renewal for sunset industries, and encourages innovators.
According to Oladimeji, as at 2022, cassava was the 1063rd most imported product in Nigeria.

“Nigeria,” he said, “imports cassava primarily from United Kingdom ($49.2k), Brazil ($2.68k), Cameroon (1.91k), Niger ($321), and Belgium ($33).

He said Egypt is the only African country ranked among the world’s top ten highest exporters of cassava, with an export value of $81.8 million with less than 1% share (0.94%) of the total producers and export value of cassava in Africa and globally.

Apart from garri, lafun, fufu, etc., cassava products have a wide range of value chain such as in the making of bread, cake, candies, ice cream, beverages, fuel ethanol, animal feeds, furniture, paper and wood. All these lead to job creation, food security and incomes for farmers.

He identified some of the challenges facing cassava production in Nigeria as government inconsistent policy, increase in foreign exchange in the course of the project implementation, destruction of cassava farmland by cattle herdsmen, insecurity and communal clashes, lack of infrastructural facilities, little access to credit facilities, and lack of enough partnership and collaboration.

He proposed packaging differentiation, product diversification, regional standards and quality control, appropriate processing equipment, viable regulatory system, capacity building, and marketing channels as the way forward for the cassava industry in Nigeria.

He also prescribed that “government MUST be the catalyst, enabler and regulator of the cassava industry. There is the need for key players to ensure that private-led actions geared towards sustaining the development of cassava-based industries are initiated and advocated. There should be fair public incentives and funding within the geopolitical zone of the federation,” he said. 

By Osa Mbonu-Amadi, Vanguard

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Nigeria Spends $600m Importing Palm Oil Annually

The National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN) says Nigeria spends $600 million on palm oil importation annually.

Alphonsus Inyang, the national president of the association, stated this in an interview with NAN yesterday in Abuja. He described the expenses as unhealthy for national development.

Inyang said the money could be saved and injected into the economy if the palm oil sub-sector was given due attention by successive governments.

The president regretted that Nigeria, which was self-sufficient in palm oil production in the past, now spends a huge amount to import the same product.

Inyang recalled that in the 60s, Nigeria was number one in palm oil production and exportation globally, controlling over 60 per cent of world palm oil.

He said that the reverse was the case at the moment as over 50 percent of what we consume is imported.

“At the moment, the country occupies the fifth position in the league of palm oil-producing countries after Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Colombia.

“Nigeria may even lose the position to smaller countries who are investing heavily in the sector.

“Indonesia occupies the first position, producing 50 million metric tons, Malaysia second with 19 million metric tons, Thailand 3.28 million and Colombia 1.9 million metric tonnes,” he said.

The president attributed the challenge to the neglect of the sector by successive governments.

Inyang said that based on the U.S. The Department of Agriculture, Nigeria currently occupies fifth position in the league of palm oil-producing countries with 1.5 percent or 1.4 million metric tonnes of the world’s total output.

“Nigeria was overthrown as the world’s largest palm oil producer and exporter by Malaysia and Indonesia in 1966.

“Currently, Nigeria is the largest consumer of the product in the continent, consuming approximately three million metric tons yearly.

“Domestic production stands at less than 1.4 million metric tons, leaving a deficit of over 1.6 million metric tonnes,’’ he said.

Inyang specifically called on the federal ministry of agriculture and food security, to support NPPAN members with seedlings to develop 250,000 hectares per year.

“Our members can plant up to 250,000 hectares per year through the association’s National Oil Palm Strategy Development Plan; all we want are inputs.

“The government does not need to give and develop land for us, we need seedlings, fertilisers, logistics and implements to close this gap within four years.

“We will also create new millionaires in 28 states of the federation,” he said.

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Nigeria to remove ‘political farmers’ from database

The federal government, on Wednesday, announced that it is making efforts to modify farmers’ databases to get rid of “political farmers” as it plans to kick off the second phase of dry season farming.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this in a maiden press briefing organised by the Minister of Information and National Orientation to regain public confidence.

According to him, only genuine farmers will benefit from government-subsidised interventions.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Bola Tinubu administration earlier announced that a lot of agricultural policies meant for farmers were enjoyed by ‘political farmers’: persons linked to politicians but who were not real farmers.

Last year, the ministry launched the first phase of dry season farming under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) project. The first phase focused on 15 wheat-growing states.
 

I50,000 hectares of rice to be cultivated in second phase

Mr Kyari said following a key evaluation of the first phase of dry season farming, measures have been taken to ensure the success of the subsequent phase.

He said 150,000 hectares of rice would be cultivated during the second phase, noting that 300,000 genuine farmers are targeted for this. The farmers, he said, would benefit from the government’s subsidised interventions such as fertilisers, herbicides and micronutrients among others.

According to him, the farmers would get three bags of these agro-inputs for free after purchasing half bags.

In addition, he said, 30,000 hectares of maize would be cultivated across the 36 states of the federation. The minister expressed optimism, noting that some state governors have shown interest in the scheme.

Mr Kyari also clarified that 42,000 metric tonnes of grains earmarked for distribution to vulnerable households would be at no cost.

“The 42,000 metric tonnes of food from the national food reserves is free,” he clarified. “We’re trying to crash down the prices of food and make it available.”

“So these 42,000 metric tonnes of food will be given to the needy free of charge. It would go directly to the needy at no cost at all.

“We’ve met with the DSS and NEMA to give us the index. This is to gather intelligence on where it is needed the most, and we are going to look at those indices,” Mr Kyari added.

Idris unveils five-pillar agenda to regain public confidence

In his remarks, the information minister, Muhammed Idris, said his ministry has developed a five-pillar agenda in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope vision.

Mr Idris said the agenda is targeted at restoring trust, amplifying policies and programmes, reorienting national values, modernizing technology and talent, and creating an enabling environment for the media.

“The Ministerial Press Briefing Series (MPBS) that we are kicking off today, are in line with our ‘Restore Trust’ and ‘Amplify Policies and Programmes’ pillars. This is a chance for you, the distinguished members of the press, to engage with senior officials of the federal government, on behalf of the good people of Nigeria,” the minister told journalists.

“You will hear first-hand about what the federal government is doing, policies, programmes, targets and objectives, and you will be able to ask questions and receive relevant clarifications. We have also made efforts to ensure that this Briefing Series receives the widest possible coverage, through traditional and digital platforms,” the minister explained.

Mr Idris said the ministry is “determined to restore trust, confidence and credibility to public communications, by engaging in a timely, proactive and consistent fashion with all our stakeholders, across government, the media, private sector and international community, deploying all available platforms and media.”

He noted that the press briefing will subsequently feature other ministers who will be brought before the press to highlight the government’s efforts in stabilising the country.

ByYakubu Mohammed, Premium Times

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Monsanto planning to takeover agriculture in Nigeria

As everyone knows, one American company called Monsanto has been on a determined march to take over agricultural production all over the world and enslave all farmers and countries to their commercial blood sucking logic. They have finally found a bridgehead into Nigeria where a door has been opened to allow them enter and takeover. They have been allowed to initiate so-called experimental farms to produce cotton and maize. Their point of entry has been the irresponsible National Biotechnology Development Agency, which has been compromised by Monsanto to provide an entry point to take over our agriculture.

This week, I write to support the great work currently being carried out by Nnimmo Bassey and his team at the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) to resist the dangerous takeover of our agriculture by Monsanto. The Foundation has exposed the fact that GMOs have been approved to be grown in Nigeria and that the approval was surreptitious. There is an argument whether the approval was for a two-year trial process or for permanent production and for me, both must be opposed. At no time has the Nigerian Government taken a policy decision to approve GMOs and given the health dangers alone of this technology, it is irresponsible to allow this. We cannot allow the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) to sell our future for some temporary inducement they have received from Monsanto. How was it allowed that Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Ltd would register in the country and start production without explicit approval the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly?


Burkina Faso, which took the lead on GMO production in Africa, decided this year to abandoned its GMO cotton citing the inferior lint quality of Monsanto products and the enslavement of buying expensive seeds and chemicals from the company each year for an income that is less than what they were having before introducing it. It would be recalled that for a long time, Burkinabé cotton was renowned for its high quality following a highly successful non-GM breeding programme founded by the French government and spanning 70 years. 

The main goal of the breeding programme was to create cultivars that were well adapted to the growing conditions in West Africa and had the desired quality characteristics, such as a high ginning ratio, which is the percentage of the desired cotton fibre per unit weight of cotton delivered to the factory and long staple length. They foolishly decided to abandon the home grown approach and follow the GMO route of Monsanto and after six years of commercial production, they discovered that the quality and world market price of their cotton had plummeted. Cotton is the second-biggest source of revenue for the impoverished West African country after gold. It is this same GMO cotton that failed in Burkina Faso that is now being introduced to Nigeria.

I therefore call on the Ministers of Agriculture and the Environment to call the National Biosafety Management Agency to order and to withdraw the authorization issued for the production of GMO crops. Given our fragile ecosystems and stressed environment, we must take our biosafety seriously and avoid the path of introducing crops that are dangerous to the health of our people and our environment. Nineteen European countries that care about the health of their people have completely banned genetically modified crops. 

Even the Russian State Duma last month passed a bill banning all import and production of genetically modified organisms in the country. We must not allow Nigeria to be turned into a dumping ground for what sensible countries have rejected. Sincere scientists have shown evidence that Monsanto’s crops are genetically enhanced to tolerate the use of the herbicide glyphosate which was declared as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The current Monsanto project to grow glyphosate infused maize in Nigeria is a direct threat to our health. Recent studies have linked glyphosate to health effects such as degeneration of the liver and kidney, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It is unfortunate that Bill Gates with his America First mentality is sponsoring Monsanto’s Water Efficient Maize for Africa, a five-year development project led by the Kenyan-based African Agricultural Technology Foundation, which aims to develop a variety of drought-tolerant maize seeds. Why will he not invest in the Institute of Agricultural Research project in Ahmadu Bello University that is developing draught resistant maize that does not have the dangers of what Monsanto is doing?

I have just read Chief Audu Ogbe’s Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016-2020 which outlines an excellent strategic approach to addressing the two key gaps in our agriculture today: an inability to meet domestic food requirements, and an inability to export at quality levels required for market success. The former problem is a productivity challenge driven by an input system and farming model that is largely inefficient. As a result, an aging population of farmers who do not have enough seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, crop protection and related support to be successful. The latter challenge is driven by an equally inefficient system for setting and enforcing food quality standards, as well as poor knowledge of target markets. Insufficient food testing facilities, a weak inspectorate system in the Ministry, and poor coordination among relevant federal agencies serve to compound early stage problems such as poor knowledge of permissible contaminant levels. 

The strategy he proposes is to address the challenges of food insecurity and the economic costs of importing $3 to $5 billion worth of food annually, especially wheat, rice, fish and sundry items, including fresh fruits by looking inward. The Ministry of Agriculture is proposing that agricultural research in the country should receive massive support. Our governments would engage its research institutions and bodies at different locations in the country, to conduct research for increased agricultural productivity and to make the research results available to farmers and other actors in the agricultural development of the states. That is the way to go. Was it not just a couple of weeks ago that the Institute of Agricultural Research of Ahmadu Bello University found a cure for the terrible blight of the tomato Ebola disease that wiped out fresh stew from our homes recently. Let’s empower our research institutes for our own good.

Daily Trust