The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, says food production has increased under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, but challenges in processing, storage and distribution continue to keep food prices high.
Kyari made this known during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday while responding to concerns over the slow impact of the Federal Government’s agricultural reforms on food prices.
According to the minister, government interventions have helped reduce production costs and farm-gate prices, but consumers are yet to fully benefit because of challenges along the food supply chain.
“Let’s go down memory lane and think about the figures in 2023 and 2024. When you look at those and compare them with what the reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration have done, we are on the right track,” Kyari said.
He explained that data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that while production costs had declined, agro-processing costs remained high.
“However, even if you look at the NBS figures, you would see that agro-processing has not come down, but production has come down. Which means at the farm gate, prices have come down considerably.
“So, these are other gaps that need to be looked at. But we have tackled the production of food, and we have seen considerable success in that regard,” he added.
Kyari attributed Nigeria’s continued reliance on food imports to rapid population growth, low agricultural productivity, limited access to farmland and the cost of agricultural inputs.
He said Nigeria’s population is growing by an estimated eight to nine million people annually, making increased productivity essential to meeting domestic food demand.
“To catch up with that, I think it’s something that we need to look at—the issue of productivity, having good quality seeds. This is what we’ve been trying to do; we’ve been able to at least impact a lot of farmers to give them subsidized inputs and subsidized seeds,” he said.
FG Targets Reduction in Processed Food Imports
The minister said the Federal Government is focusing on mechanisation, local processing and the Special Agro-Processing Zones to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported processed food.
Kyari noted that available data indicated that processed food imports were increasing even as the prices of farm produce continued to decline.
He said the government was therefore working to encourage local value addition by discouraging the export of raw agricultural commodities and expanding processing capacity.
The minister also highlighted the Special Agro-Processing Zones, saying the first eight zones are expected to come on stream before the end of next year, with plans already underway for a second phase involving about 10 additional states.
According to him, the zones are designed to integrate production, aggregation, storage, processing and marketing in order to strengthen Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
Kyari also attributed increased agricultural activity in some parts of the country to improved security, saying farmers had regained access to farmlands that were previously inaccessible because of insecurity.
He said Nigeria recorded a “massive bumper harvest” in 2024 and an even higher output in 2025, while the figures for 2026 are expected after the current harvest season.
2026 Harvest Expected to Surpass 2025
Kyari projected that Nigeria’s 2026 agricultural harvest would exceed the bumper harvest recorded in 2025.
He attributed the expected increase to improved productivity, more stable input prices and interventions by government agencies.
According to him, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Bank of Agriculture and National Agricultural Development Fund have implemented various interventions aimed at reducing the burden of input costs on farmers.
He said the National Agricultural Development Fund distributed fertiliser to farmers at no cost, while the Bank of Agriculture provided a 50 per cent subsidy.
Kyari said the government expects the first set of 2026 agricultural production figures between October and November, following the completion of the wet-season harvest.
He added that the government plans to begin collecting production data after each agricultural cycle to better monitor year-round farming.
Government Tracks Tractor Performance
On mechanisation, the minister said tractors supplied under the Nigerian Agricultural Mechanisation Policy had already been deployed to farms across the country.
Kyari explained that the government was now monitoring the performance of the tractors, with a target of ensuring that each tractor cultivates between 500 and 600 hectares annually.
He said the model is designed to ensure that farmers who receive access to subsidised tractors extend the benefits to neighbouring farmers.
According to him, deploying 2,000 tractors and achieving the targeted annual performance could translate to land preparation for about one million hectares each year.
The minister said the government’s broader objective is to increase agricultural productivity while strengthening the processing and distribution systems needed to ensure that lower farm-gate prices eventually translate into more affordable food for consumers.
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