ActionAid Raises Alarm Over Farmland Conversion in Nigeria

News in Brief:

-ActionAid Nigeria has alerted stakeholders to the growing trend of converting farmlands into commercial and residential use, threatening food security.

-It is calling for an urgent review of the Land Use Act, arguing that current bureaucratic and socio-cultural barriers prevent smallholder women and youth from securing land for sustainable agriculture.

While acknowledging the problem, government officials have committed to working with stakeholders to develop concrete policy reforms that will improve land governance and empower smallholder farmers across the country.

ActionAid Nigeria has expressed deep concern about the growing trend of converting productive agricultural lands into residential and commercial real estate. As the nation grapples with severe food insecurity and climate-related shocks, the organisation argues that this shift is severely hindering the ability of smallholder farmers to sustain food production.

The Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu, sounded the alarm during a National Town Hall Meeting focused on the Land Use Act and alternative frameworks for land access. The event, which brought together key agricultural stakeholders, explored how existing legal and administrative hurdles prevent young people and smallholder women farmers, who form the backbone of the country’s food systems, from securing the land they need to farm.

A Systemic Hurdle to Growth

Mamedu highlighted that the current Land Use Act has proven inadequate in ensuring equitable access and tenure security for the most vulnerable in the agricultural sector. He pointed to bureaucratic bottlenecks, weak enforcement of existing regulations, and deeply entrenched socio-cultural constraints as major drivers of land insecurity.

“This trend has created significant barriers for farmers in accessing farmland,” Mamedu stated during the meeting. He warned that Nigeria is already struggling with the dual impact of climate-induced land degradation and rising food insecurity, noting that these structural challenges only deepen the vulnerability of farmers, particularly women and youth.

According to data shared at the meeting, ActionAid, with support from various partners, has successfully built the capacity of approximately 135,000 smallholder women farmers in climate-resilient agricultural practices. However, these gains are increasingly threatened by competing land uses, frequent land disputes, and gender-based discrimination that denies many women and youths full control over the plots they cultivate.

Toward a Sustainable Future

The Federal Government, represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, acknowledged these challenges. Dr Ogunbiyi admitted that structural, legal, and socio-cultural barriers are actively undermining agricultural productivity and collective national goals for economic growth.

“The challenges not only undermine agricultural productivity but also limit our collective efforts toward inclusive economic growth, climate resilience, and sustainable food systems,” Ogunbiyi said. He urged stakeholders to move beyond rhetoric and develop practical, actionable, and inclusive recommendations to inform policy reform and institutional strengthening at both national and sub-national levels.

ActionAid emphasised that improving land access is not just about ownership; it is a critical step in advancing agroecology and integrating economic trees, which provide sustainable income for rural households. The organisation called for stronger partnerships to ensure that land governance systems become more inclusive and supportive of the National Agroecology Strategy.