The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has said the prices of some essential food commodities have fallen by up to 50 per cent across Nigeria.
Kyari disclosed this on Monday in Maiduguri, Borno State, while declaring open the Community of Practice Meeting of Commissioners for Agriculture, Health, Environment and Rural Development.
The meeting was organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with the Borno State Government, with support from Germany, under the theme, “Stronger Partnerships for a Food Secure Nigeria”.
The minister said President Bola Tinubu had placed food security at the centre of the Federal Government’s national agenda.
“Our responsibility is to translate that mandate into increased production, greater affordability, stronger rural economies and a more resilient food system,” Kyari said.
“We have seen the reduction of up to 50 per cent in prices of some essential food commodities, alongside expanded input delivery, investment in rural infrastructure and support to smallholder farmers.”
Kyari stressed that the prices of some food items had dropped significantly compared with their levels in 2023.
“Let’s be honest, how much was a bag of rice and maize in 2023, and how much is it now? What is the percentage? Let us not play politics with these things,” he said.
He, however, said the meeting would also consider the Kampala Comprehensive African Development Programme Declaration and its Strategy and Action Plan for 2026–2035.
Kyari said the Kampala framework adopted a broader agrifood systems approach, covering sustainable production, investment and finance, food and nutrition security, trade, inclusion, resilience and stronger governance.
“For a country of Nigeria’s scale, the choices we make in agriculture have consequences beyond our borders, for regional markets, Africa’s wider agrifood transformation and Nigeria’s place in the global food economy,” he said.
The minister said Nigeria had developed and validated a 10-year National Agrifood System Strategy and Action Plan to domesticate the commitments contained in the framework.
He described the meeting as an important sub-national mechanism for translating the declaration into practical action.
“I therefore urge our deliberations here in Borno to focus firmly on implementation,” Kyari said.
He urged the states to leave the meeting with clearer plans on how to advance the Kampala commitments and align their agricultural programmes with national priorities.
These priorities, he said, included rural infrastructure, agricultural extension services, access to credit and quality inputs, labour-saving technologies, reduction of post-harvest losses and climate-resilient agriculture.
Speaking earlier, the Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Nigeria, Dr Karin Jansen, assured participants that Germany would continue to support Nigeria in strengthening agricultural policy processes, expanding successful approaches and promoting civil society participation.
She said Germany’s support was being provided through the Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies project, known as AgSys.
“Through the Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies project – AgSys, German Development Cooperation supports Nigerian partners in strengthening agricultural policy processes, scaling successful approaches and strengthening civil society participation,” Jansen said.
She added that the aim was to strengthen existing structures and help translate national commitments into practical action.
According to Jansen, the success of the Kampala Agenda would ultimately be measured by better policies, stronger institutions, effective investments and tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerians.
