Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima, has said Nigeria will support private-led food reform with single-digit agriculture loans and clear policies.
According to him, Nigeria will pursue a transformative private sector-led approach to food systems reform to position the country as a continental leader in agricultural innovation.
Shettima, stated this during a briefing by the Task Force on the 2nd UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4), co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Vice President explained a framework that would reshape Nigeria’s approach to food security by empowering private enterprise through government support structures.
“The government is ever ready to introduce single-digit credit facilities to finance agricultural ventures, similar to how countries like South Korea supported industrial conglomerates in their early development.
“Our role as a government is to derisk, catalyse and convene. We will be active in policy formulation and support structures. We should allow the private sector to drive the process.
“Even if it involves supporting the finance needs of the agricultural sector by giving them single-digit credit facilities, we will do it. That was how countries like South Korea developed by supporting the chaebols,” Shettima added.
However, the VP outlined three key objectives for Nigeria’s delegation to the Ethiopia-Italy co-hosted summit, these include; positioning Nigeria as a thought leader on African food systems reform; leveraging international partnerships aligned with domestic priorities; and advancing a private sector-led model for continental food transformation.
In his words, “Food systems transformation is not just about reacting to crises but about building the economic backbone of a resilient Nigeria.
“Our pathway is clear – empower the private sector, unlock functioning markets and ensure that every reform we pursue lays the foundation for long-term national productivity and prosperity.”
On his part, the National Convener and Director of the Social Development Office, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Sanjo Faniran, recalled that the Vice President had in 2023 chaired the two events during the stock taking in Rome, adding that it led to the ongoing efforts to achieve food system transformation in Nigeria.
“We are working with the 36 states of the federation and the FCT. The second stock taking, which is the fourth year of the Food Systems Summit, is coming up on 27th – 29th of July, 2025,” he stated, noting that it would be essential for the Vice President to be present at the summit in Ethiopia.
Faniran listed some of the events on the sidelines of the Summit to include a ministerial roundtable on public finance, trade and responsible investment to accelerate the transition being organised by the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on the second day of the summit.
“The roundtable will be convened by the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Hajiya Amina Mohammed, adding that it is very crucial for the Vice President of Nigeria to be in attendance.
“Those who attended the meeting included: Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari; Country Director, Food and Agriculture Organisation; Country Director, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); Country Director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN); Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) , among other stakeholders.”
