Nigeria’s agricultural sector faces numerous challenges, including inconsistent policies, overlapping regulations, and economic instability. Despite initiatives from various government levels aimed at enhancing food production, factors such as insecurity, bureaucratic hurdles, and political disagreements frequently impede progress.
Achieving policy harmonisation is essential for the sector’s advancement; however, this goal remains challenging in Nigeria.
Agriculture is on the concurrent list in Nigeria’s constitution. Both the federal and state governments have control. However, this shared responsibility often leads to conflict rather than collaboration. The tug of political interests creates resistance and, as a result, discontinuity. Some states push back against federal initiatives for political gain, not for practical reasons.
Then there’s the reality on the ground. A federal policy might declare the need to expand farmlands, but insecurity makes that impossible in many regions. Kidnappings, farmer-herder clashes, and general unrest prevent farmers from working safely. Even when security isn’t a direct issue, economic instability caused by inflation gets in the way of progress.
According to the Lagos State Commissioner of Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, agricultural policy fails largely because of the disconnect between federal goals and the unequal specific realities at the state level that prevent locally relevant implementation.
The private sector faces several challenges that hinder its growth and success. These obstacles can include regulatory burdens, market competition, and economic fluctuations.
According to experts like Dr Kabiru Yusuf, National Project Coordinator SAPZ (Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Project), Dr. Winifred Solarin, Director of Animal Husbandry at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, the Group Managing Director of Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery Limited, agriculture must be private-sector-driven for Nigeria to become food-secure. The government has to sow and see, providing infrastructure (roads, proper storage, finance) and taking a back seat as the private sector leads production and distribution.
However, this dream is frustrated by a discouraging cost-benefit analysis of what it takes to turn the situation around. As Dr Kabiru Yusuf opines, private investors are unmotivated by the lack of accessory services and high “transaction costs” that threaten the goal of turning a profit.
Kabiru explained that secure, mapped farmland is available in only a few states, which creates a challenge for investors in the agricultural sector. Additionally, conflicting regulations within the industry complicate matters further.
Dr Winifred Solarin has emphasised the challenges arising from the presence of multiple regulatory bodies, including NAFDAC, SON, and the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science. These overlapping authorities can create complications in the agriculture and food security regulatory landscape.
Additionally, the necessary improvements and updates to current systems are considerable and warrant careful consideration.
One of Nigeria’s significant policy failures is inconsistency. Dr. Ayoola Oduntan notes that every new government introduces fresh ideas, often discarding the work of previous administrations.
He highlighted this challenge during the Agric National Summit Africa, hosted by Sterling Bank in 2024. According to him, Nigeria’s approach to agricultural development is characterised by “short-term management”, with “policies changing every time with new people.” This pattern needs to change.
Agriculture, like any business, needs long-term planning. Frequent policy shifts discourage investment and destabilise progress. As experts opine, a practical solution is to set clear, long-term criteria for agricultural development. New ministers and commissioners should inherit a structured agenda, and their performance should be judged by how much they achieve within their terms.
Also, states should be given interpretive room to implement policies. This helps create realistic and custom goals for each state. Conversely, regulations should be clear, strict, and fully enforced to ensure top standards.
Nigeria remains a net importer of food despite its boundless agricultural potential. This makes policy harmonisation a necessity. harmonising policies across the sector is essential to address this issue effectively. Achieving this can transform Nigeria’s agriculture from a struggling economy to a thriving one, making food security an attainable goal rather than just an aspiration.
