The federal government has unveiled plans to ramp up Nigeria’s strategic food reserves, to stabilise food prices, safeguard food security, and inject financial liquidity into the agricultural sector to support farmers and year-round production.
Speaking during a working tour of agricultural facilities in Kaduna, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, confirmed that the initiative will enable dry-season farming and cushion farmers against market shocks.
The tour, attended by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Abdullahi Aliyu, and key stakeholders, formed part of the engagements on the sidelines of the 47th regular meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Food Security.
The government’s announcement comes amid growing concerns from farmers over falling food prices despite surging input costs.
Kyari acknowledged the pressure but stressed that both producers and consumers stand to benefit from price equilibrium.
“Farmers are worried about a crash in the cost of food, but they also go to the same markets and benefit from cheaper prices,” he said.
“The bigger challenge is the cost of inputs. President Bola Tinubu is working on that. We will address input pricing and balance the welfare of citizens and farmers. Very soon, we will stock strategic reserves to give financial liquidity to the sector and enable dry-season farming.”
During the tour, Kyari expressed satisfaction with the scale of local interest in food production and processing, noting alignment with the president’s food security and food sovereignty agenda.
“What we see on the field is almost in line with the renewed hope agenda of Mr President,” he said.
The facilities visited included Olam Agri, TMDK Agro Park, Debranch Farmers, the Afreximbank Quality Assurance Office, and tomato Jos.
According to Kyari, the quality assurance office will play a major role in certifying Nigerian produce for both local and export markets.
At Tomato Jos, Chief Executive Officer Mira Mehta outlined the company’s mission to strengthen local tomato processing, reduce import dependency, and boost rural livelihoods.
The firm operates Africa’s third-largest tomato processing plant from its Kaduna factory and collaborates with over 350 smallholder farmers, 60 per cent of whom are women.
“Our mission is local production for local consumption, creating a rural middle class by offering farmers a reliable market and processing their tomatoes into quality paste,” Mehta said.
She raised concerns about the economic impact of imported tomato paste, particularly from China, which she said undermines the local industry.
Tomato Jos has invested over US$20 million into farming and processing infrastructure and cleared 300 hectares of irrigated land for dry-season cultivation.
Mehta also highlighted ongoing sector bottlenecks, including input costs, inconsistent policies, market access barriers, and tuta absoluta, a destructive tomato pest.
She urged the federal government to create a coordinated rapid response system to curb its spread.
She further called for partnerships with the government and packaging firms to support local product uptake, stating that the company faces challenges in selling its final output despite having a strong production capacity.
The minister reaffirmed that the government is preparing policy interventions to support processing, reduce input costs, and expand strategic grain storage as part of broader measures aimed at stability.
Nigeria currently operates 33 grain silos with a combined capacity of 1.136 million metric tonnes, a key asset in the national reserve strategy.
Source: Punch News
