Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged global partners to utilise Nigeria’s vast opportunities in agriculture, which is the foundation for food security, poverty reduction, and sustainable growth.
At the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) National and Subregional Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum in Abuja yesterday, where the FAO and other stakeholders pledged support for Nigeria’s agricultural transformation, Shettima reminded the delegates that hunger remains a universal challenge which requires collective action.
The vice president asserted that Nigeria’s true strength lies in its vast arable land and youthful population, which he called “the heartbeat of green revolution, the custodians of our future prosperity and the builders of a Nigeria that must feed itself and feed the world.”
Shettima assured investors that President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is working to break all barriers to agricultural growth.
“We must facilitate access to land and resources for serious investors. We must drive mechanisation to reduce drudgery and enhance productivity. We must strengthen the agricultural credit system to ensure capital flows to where they are needed most,” the VP said.
“Nothing unifies humanity as much as hunger; it’s the great equaliser that reveals our vulnerabilities and the shared fragility of our existence.
“Every threat to food availability is an invitation to stand together, to compare notes, and to find collective means of scaling up production to meet the demand of our growing populations,” he added.
Shettima also highlighted the government’s National Development Plan (2021–2025), which targets lifting 35 million Nigerians out of poverty and creating 21 million jobs, particularly in rural and agrarian communities.
According to him, these efforts align with FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative, which Nigeria has endorsed at successive World Food Forums in Rome.
On irrigation, Shettima said the potential was immense, adding that “Strategic investment in irrigation alone could triple yields, free us from seasonal dependency, and fortify our resilience against climate shocks”.
In his remarks, FAO representative in Nigeria and to ECOWAS, Hussein Gadain, praised the government’s commitment and described the forum as a platform for action.
Gadain said the Hand-in-Hand Initiative has identified high-impact investment opportunities and matched them with private sector and development partners.
He called irrigation a “game-changer” for Nigeria’s food systems and commended Shettima for his “genuine commitment and visionary leadership.”
