By Godswill Michael
The Federal Government, state governments, development partners and other stakeholders have agreed to strengthen collaboration in implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration and its 2026–2035 Strategy and Action Plan.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this on Monday in Maiduguri, Borno State, at the annual Community of Practice meeting on the implementation of the Kampala Declaration.
Kyari said stronger alignment among the Federal Government, states and development partners was critical to achieving sustainable food security, strengthening rural economies and building resilient livelihoods.
“Alignment between the Federal and State Governments and partners is indispensable to sustainable food security and resilient livelihoods,” the minister said.
He said the collaboration must translate into compatible policies, reliable data, complementary investments and clearly defined responsibilities.
“We need one coherent agrifood system in which national direction and State-level execution reinforce one another,” he said.
According to Kyari, the Kampala framework has broadened the focus of agricultural development beyond food production to include investment and finance, food and nutrition security, trade, inclusion, resilience and governance.
He said the framework was particularly important as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had placed food security at the centre of the Federal Government’s agenda.
“Our responsibility is to translate that mandate into increased production, greater affordability, stronger rural economies and a more resilient food system,” Kyari said.
The minister said Nigeria had recorded reductions of up to 50 per cent in the prices of some essential food commodities, alongside expanded input distribution, investment in rural infrastructure and support for smallholder farmers.
He, however, said the government must sustain the gains and deepen their impact.
Kyari disclosed that Nigeria had developed and validated a 10-year National Agrifood System Strategy and Action Plan to domesticate the Kampala commitments and provide a framework for implementation.
He said the strategy would define roles, responsibilities, timelines and accountability mechanisms, while integrating CAADP Biennial Review indicators into national planning, budgeting and reporting.
“Through the validation process, we are working to align national and State budgets, reduce duplication and direct investment towards agreed priorities,” he said.
The minister urged states to build on their comparative agricultural advantages rather than pursue uniform production models across the country.
“Our task is to build on those comparative advantages with adaptable technologies, infrastructure and market linkages, rather than expect every State to produce everything,” Kyari said.
On input security, he said early procurement under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, now under the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, had helped secure supply for the 2026 farming season and generated N61.58 billion in savings.
He added that the government remained on course to deliver 1.1 million metric tonnes of fertiliser in 2026.
Kyari also disclosed that the government unveiled the National Agricultural Mechanisation Policy and the National Agricultural Mechanisation Investment Strategy in August.
He said the policies were designed to move agricultural mechanisation away from fragmented equipment interventions towards a sustainable ecosystem, including plans for a mega tractor assembly plant capable of producing between 2,000 and 4,000 tractors annually.
The minister said the government was also expanding all-season farming through irrigation, improving access to quality seeds, supporting agricultural research institutes and strengthening the link between research and practical solutions for farmers.
He said the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones would help connect production areas with processing facilities and markets, stressing that such investments must be integrated with rural infrastructure, extension services, agricultural finance, nutrition and sustainable management of land and water resources.
Kyari urged states to align their action plans with the Kampala commitments, particularly in rural infrastructure, extension services, agricultural credit, quality inputs, labour-saving technologies, post-harvest loss reduction and climate-resilient agriculture.
He also called for greater participation of women and young people across agricultural value chains, as well as improved conditions for private investment and development finance.
The Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, represented by his deputy, Usman Kadafur, said the meeting provided an opportunity for policymakers, development practitioners, agricultural experts, researchers, farmers, private-sector operators and development partners to exchange knowledge and coordinate action.
Zulum said the Community of Practice should produce measurable improvements rather than serve merely as a forum for presenting ideas.
“A Community of Practice should not simply be a gathering where ideas are presented and applauded. It should be a platform where experience becomes knowledge, knowledge becomes action, and action produces measurable improvement in the lives of our people,” he said.
The Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Nigeria, Dr Karin Jansen, said Germany welcomed Nigeria’s leadership in advancing the Kampala Agenda and remained committed to supporting its implementation.
Jansen said transforming Nigeria’s agrifood systems required strong cooperation between the Federal Government and states, as well as active participation by non-state actors.
She described the Community of Practice as a mechanism for linking national priorities with state-level action while promoting knowledge exchange, learning and joint problem-solving.
According to her, the first Community of Practice focused on building a common understanding of the Kampala Declaration and strengthening state-driven approaches, while the latest meeting marked a shift from understanding to implementation and from commitments to coordinated action.
She said Germany, through the Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented by GIZ, was supporting Nigerian partners to strengthen agricultural policy processes, scale successful approaches and increase civil society participation.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said Nigeria must move away from a siloed approach to agricultural development by allowing states to focus on their specific strengths.
“A central theme emerging from our interactions is the need to leverage Nigeria’s comparative advantages. We must move beyond the siloed approach of the past,” Abdullahi said.
He said the country’s agrifood challenges required an integrated, multisectoral response involving the ministries responsible for agriculture, health, environment and rural development.
“The nexus between food production, nutrition, environmental sustainability, and rural development is the cornerstone of our national prosperity,” he said.
The meeting was attended by commissioners responsible for agriculture, livestock, fisheries, health, environment, commerce and rural development, as well as other stakeholders in the agricultural sector.