Omotayo Adigun
The Federal Government of Nigeria is poised to launch the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism (NAPM), a strategic initiative designed to significantly enhance agricultural productivity, stabilize volatile food prices, and stimulate overall economic growth across the nation.
The NAPM forms a key component of a broader government strategy focused on the comprehensive transformation of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
This transformation will be driven by data-informed policies and robust public-private partnerships aimed at modernizing farming practices and optimizing resource allocation.
Speaking on Friday in Abuja during a crucial meeting of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) Steering Committee held at the Presidential Villa, Vice President Kashim Shettima underscored the importance of the NAPM.
He stated that the mechanism will ensure a cohesive alignment of agricultural efforts across all tiers of government through the utilization of real-time data analytics.
The Vice President also highlighted the imminent implementation of the Green Imperative Project (GIP), a significant $1.1 billion initiative resulting from a bilateral agreement signed between Nigeria and Brazil on March 17, 2025.
The GIP aims to modernize 774 mid-sized Nigerian farms through the adoption of advanced Brazilian agricultural technologies, with the overarching goals of creating substantial employment opportunities and significantly boosting agricultural productivity nationwide.
VP Shettima emphasized the government’s commitment to the GIP, stating, “The Green Imperative Project (GIP) is an idea whose time has come. It has been in the incubation period for several years, and now it is coming to fruition; we have to get it right. We have had many interventions in this country in the past. We must make this work, and it’s the states that will drive the process.”
In a proactive move to mitigate potential disaster, Vice President Shettima also announced that President Bola Tinubu has approved the allocation of ₦15 billion to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to bolster preparedness for the anticipated flooding as the rainy season commences.
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“This is one of the first proactive decisions by the government to prepare for the flooding season,” the Vice President noted, highlighting the government’s commitment to early intervention.
Earlier in the meeting, the Technical Assistant to the President on Agriculture and Executive Secretary of PFSCU, Marion Moon, provided a detailed explanation of the NAPM’s objectives.
She stated that the mechanism is specifically designed to address critical challenges such as persistently high food inflation and agricultural yields that currently lag behind global averages by a significant 60 percent.
Moon revealed that the pilot survey phase for the NAPM has been successfully completed across 13 states, paving the way for a full national launch scheduled for June 2025.
The NAPM, underpinned by strategic data analytics partnerships and a digital platform currently under development, aims to tackle key issues including food inflation, inefficient subsidy distribution, and outdated farming practices. The ultimate goal is to establish a unified framework for the country to optimize public spending in the agricultural sector and drive sustainable rural development.
The high-level meeting witnessed the presence of several key stakeholders, including the Governors of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi, and Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji; the Deputy Governors of Borno State, Umar Kadafur, and Ebonyi State, Patricia Onyemaechi Obila; the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari; the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi; the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance; prominent heads of agriculture and manufacturing private sector entities; and representatives from various international development partners.