Vice President Kashim Shettima has announced that Nigeria no longer views food security through a narrow agricultural lens, but as a core macroeconomic, security and governance priority.
Speaking on Thursday at a high-level panel titled “When Food Becomes Security” at the Congress Centre during the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Shettima said the Federal Government has begun a multidimensional agricultural drive aimed at insulating the country from global shocks and restoring productivity in key food-producing regions.
“In Nigeria, we don’t look at food security purely as an agricultural issue. It is a macroeconomic, security and governance issue,” the Vice President said. “Our focus is to use food security as a pillar for national security, regional cohesion and stability.”
He explained that Nigeria’s food security framework is anchored on three pillars: increased food production, environmental sustainability and deeper regional integration within West Africa.
According to him, global supply chain disruptions and climate pressures have forced Nigeria to rebuild its agricultural base by developing resilient food systems adapted to its diverse ecological zones.
“Nigeria is a very large country, and there is an incestuous relationship between economy and ecology,” Shettima said. “In the Sahelian North, we face desertification, deforestation and drought, while flooding remains a major challenge in the riverine South and parts of the North Central.”
To address these challenges, he said the government is promoting drought-resistant, flood-tolerant and early-maturing crop varieties such as rice, sorghum and millet, while redesigning food systems in flood-prone areas to withstand climate shocks.
Security concerns, he noted, continue to affect food production, as many conflict-prone areas also serve as Nigeria’s major food baskets.
“That is why we are creating food security corridors and strengthening community-based security engagements so farmers can return safely to their land,” he said.
Shettima disclosed that the Federal Government has launched the Back to the Farm Initiative to resettle displaced farmers, provide agricultural inputs, insurance and access to capital to restart production.
On macroeconomic pressures, the Vice President identified heavy import dependence and foreign exchange volatility as major contributors to food inflation.
“We import wheat, sugar and dairy products, and this directly impacts inflation. Our strategy is to accelerate local production and promote substitutes such as sorghum, millet and cassava flour to correct these structural imbalances,” he said.
He added that Nigeria’s food security strategy aligns agriculture with national stability, inflation control and regional cooperation, positioning it as a frontline response to economic and security threats.
Shettima also urged African countries to deepen cooperation under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), noting that intra-African trade has become a necessity amid global realignments.
He expressed optimism that ongoing reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda would soon translate into scalable investments for smallholder farmers and fishers, improved climate adaptation and a surge in intra-African trade.
Deji Elumoye, Abuja
About the Author
