The Nigeria Youth Forum (NYF) on Tuesday raised the alarm over worsening food security in Nigeria and asserted that the crisis is largely due to systemic corruption, diversion of agricultural machinery, weak budgetary commitment and poor oversight of key interventions.
In a statement signed and made available to Tribune Online in Abuja, the national president of the Forum, Comrade Toriah Olajide Filani, expressed dismay that Nigeria, with over 84 million hectares of arable land, continued to depend heavily on food importation and international aid, describing this development as “a national tragedy and policy failure”.
The Forum lamented that despite government announcements on the procurement and importation of agricultural equipment, many of the items end up being diverted for private gain, thereby denying genuine farmers the tools they need to boost productivity.
Filani noted that only 35 per cent of Nigeria’s cultivable land is currently in use, largely by smallholder farmers operating at the subsistence level without access to modern tools or support services.
He said, “Government may be trying on paper, but the reality is different in the field. Agricultural machinery meant for community use are being diverted by individuals and sold off. These acts sabotage every effort aimed at achieving food sufficiency.”
He also decried the persistent underfunding of the agricultural sector, revealing that Nigeria allocated just 1.32 per cent of its 2024 national budget to agriculture.
He said this figure fell far below the 10 per cent benchmark recommended by the African Union (AU) under the Maputo and Malabo Declarations.
The NYF national president, however, noted that in what appeared to be a shift in policy direction, the Federal Government increased its 2025 agriculture budget to N826 billion, up from N362 billion in 2024, which is a 128 per cent increase within one year.
While NYF acknowledged the significant rise, it emphasised that mere allocation is not enough without effective implementation, transparency and impact measurement.
Filani stated decried what he termed a pattern of underinvestment whereby just a fraction of total budgetary allocation reach the agricultural sector at the end of the day either sue to corruption or bureaucratic bottlenecks.
What we have is a pattern of underinvestment, where only 15 to 19 per cent of what is budgeted ends up reaching the sector. The rest is either lost to bureaucratic bottlenecks or corruption.
“This is why, despite billions spent on programmes like the Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme and the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP), the food situation is still dire,” he stated.
He declared that the level of investment in agriculture was not commensurate with the sector’s strategic role in addressing youth unemployment, boosting GDP and tackling rural insecurity.
The NYF leader observed that states with long-standing investments in agricultural infrastructure and mechanised farming, such as Kano, have reported fewer incidences of rural insecurity compared to other regions battling insurgency and banditry.
According to him, farming activities in Kani State were consistent because of dam projects initiated by the Audu Bako-led administration, asserting that where young people were engaged in farming, they were less likely to become involved in criminal activity.
While lamenting that the slow pace of agricultural reform is stalling broader economic progress, Filani submitted that Nigeria’s industrialisation is being delayed due to the lack of right foundation based on self sufficiency and agro-economic base .
“We cannot industrialise Nigeria until we develop the agricultural sector, as well as our metal industries. The process of industrialisation is being delayed because we have failed to lay the right foundation through a solid and self-sufficient agro-economic base,” he stated.
He then called on government at all levels to see agriculture not only as an economic priority but also as a vital component of national security.
To reverse the trend, the NYF called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a national agricultural emergency and urged him to unveil a comprehensive agricultural revival plan that is youth-focused, innovation-driven and measurable.
As part of the proposal, the NYF recommended the formation of youth-led agricultural cooperatives across the country and the expansion of mechanised farming schemes to boost productivity and reduce manual labour constraints faced by rural farmers.
Filani further stressed the need for a productivity benchmark to be established for each state with a view to ensuring that progress is not only tracked but publicly known.
In addition, the Forum called for the creation of a transparent and accessible public dashboard to monitor the delivery of agricultural projects and the implementation of budgetary allocations in real time.
Citing data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the NYF warned that over 25 million Nigerians could face acute food insecurity in the near future if urgent steps are not taken.
It stated that, according to the data, Nigeria was ranked 103rd out of 121 countries in the 2023 Global Hunger Index, adding that this was a damning indictment of the country’s inability to harness its natural agricultural advantage.
“Until we begin to measure impact and enforce accountability, agricultural reforms will remain televised propaganda without grassroots results. Nigeria should be the food basket of Africa, not a nation of hungry people sitting on fertile soil,” Filani added.
