Experts Divine how Nigeria can Achieve World-Class Food Security

When panellists took the stage for the food security session at agrofood Nigeria 2026, the 11th edition of West Africa's foremost agrofood trade show and conference, there was a distinct urgency to the conversation. 

Nigeria needs to plug all the bleeding holes in its food production value chain. From the literal bleeding of farmers due to insecurity, to the bleeding of actual food and income due to post-harvest loss and lack of infrastructure and machinery for modern food production. The country must explore more practical and proven strategies to transform its agriculture sector into a world-class, sustainable food production industry.

Moderated by Dr Chinyere Almona, FCA, Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the panel session titled Achieving World-Class Food Security in Nigeria drew contributions from His Excellency Michel Deelen, Consul General of the Netherlands; Otunba Francis Meshioye, President of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN); and Chief Kola Akosile from the National Association of Chambers of Industry, Manufacturers and Agribusiness (NACIMA). The discussion cut through familiar platitudes to expose systemic failures and, crucially, to propose actionable pathways forward.

Key Industry Challenges Raised

Panellists were unanimous in their diagnosis: Nigeria's agricultural sector is constrained not by one isolated problem but by an interlocking set of structural failures that compound each other at every point in the value chain.

Post-harvest losses drew the sharpest attention. Estimates cited during the session placed losses between 40 and 50 per cent, a figure that Dr Almona described as unacceptable given the country's food inflation crisis. Inadequate storage infrastructure, poor rural road networks and fragmented supply chains mean that large volumes of produce deteriorate before reaching processors or consumers. The middlemen who occupy these gaps add costs without adding value, pushing food prices higher and making the agricultural sector less competitive.

Security concerns in farming communities were also raised as a critical deterrent. Farmers in conflict-prone regions cannot reliably access their lands, resulting in sharp reductions in output. This compounds low productivity caused by limited access to quality seeds, inputs and modern agronomic knowledge.

Infrastructure deficits, particularly the absence of reliable electricity in rural farming areas, undermine the viability of mechanisation and cold chain solutions that would otherwise transform productivity. As Ibrahim pointed out, infrastructure such as roads, water supply and irrigation remains one of the most fundamental obstacles to competitiveness.

Technology and Innovation Discussions

Technology emerged as the session's most repeated prescription, though panellists were careful to frame it in practical rather than aspirational terms. The transition from a production mindset to an integrated innovation ecosystem was a central theme.

Smart agriculture was identified as a critical enabler, covering precision mechanisation, yield monitoring and data-driven planting schedules. Solar-powered machinery was specifically highlighted as a cost-effective solution suited to Nigeria's energy realities. With grid electricity unreliable across much of the country's farming belt, renewable-powered equipment offers a route to mechanisation that does not depend on government infrastructure.

Farm gate processing received particular emphasis as a solution to post-harvest losses. By processing produce such as cassava at or near the farm, farmers can remove water content and dramatically reduce spoilage during transit. A cassava farmer, for instance, can convert fresh tubers into dried chips within 48 hours of harvest, extending shelf life and reducing transport costs while supplying factories with higher-quality raw material. Panellists argued that solar-powered processing hubs co-located within farmer clusters could make this model viable even in off-grid communities.

Digital tools for accessing market prices were also raised. H.E Michel Deelen noted that even basic mobile phones can be used to check commodity prices in real time, a simple but transformative capability for smallholder farmers navigating volatile markets.

Policy and Investment Perspectives

The financing architecture for agriculture in Nigeria received frank criticism during the session. Only approximately 5 per cent of Nigeria's financial flows are directed towards agriculture, a structural imbalance that reflects the sector's perceived risk profile. Commercial banks, operating on short-term lending cycles with high interest rates, are poorly suited to the realities of agricultural production, where returns may take years to materialise.

A representative from the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment called for government intervention to bring interest rates in line with the biological timelines of key crops. Palm oil, for example, requires four years before maturity, yet farmers seeking finance for such investments are measured against commercial lending terms designed for shorter cycles.

The warehouse receipt system, drawn from Ethiopia's experience, was presented as a compelling model. Under this scheme, farmers deposit produce at certified warehouses and receive receipts that can be used as collateral with commercial banks, providing liquidity without requiring physical assets or credit history. When implemented in Ethiopia, this mechanism reportedly grew commodity exchange volumes from 64,000 to 540,000 participants over three years. Panellists argued that the model is directly transferable to Nigeria's context.

Consul General Deelen pointed to Rabobank, originally established as a farmers' cooperative lending institution in the Netherlands, as a historical precedent for how bottom-up financial structures can evolve into sector-transforming institutions. He also addressed the need for government-backed de-risking mechanisms, including guarantee funds that can absorb weather-related and market-related risks, enabling private financiers to engage with agriculture on more favourable terms.

Capital market instruments, including local bonds targeted at agricultural development, were proposed as alternative financing channels that could mobilise long-term capital at single-digit interest rates for the sector.

Strengthening Nigeria's Food Value Chain

Recommendations from the panel converged around three strategic priorities: clustering, processing and partnership.

Farmer clustering was repeatedly cited as a precondition for addressing multiple challenges simultaneously. Aggregated farmer groups can access shared mechanisation services, processing facilities and logistics infrastructure more efficiently than isolated smallholders. They can also present bankable investment cases to financial institutions. Cooperatives, in the model of those that have transformed European and Asian agriculture, can collectively manage storage and release produce strategically to moderate market prices.

On processing, the panellists endorsed a shift towards agro-industrial hubs located in proximity to farming communities rather than in cities, challenging the tendency to site processing facilities for political or administrative reasons. The principle articulated was straightforward: processing infrastructure must be placed where it makes economic sense, close to raw material sources and accessible to market routes.

The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was raised as both an opportunity and a warning. Nigeria's large domestic market and agricultural diversity position it well to compete across the continent, but only if domestic production standards meet international requirements. Panellists argued that Nigeria must focus on commodities where it holds a competitive advantage, such as cocoa, and invest in processing those commodities domestically before export, rather than continuing to export raw materials that other countries process into higher-value products. Africa, it was noted, currently exports approximately $5.7 billion worth of cocoa while the global chocolate industry generates multiples of that figure.

Youth engagement was identified as a cross-cutting imperative. The rural-to-urban migration trend is steadily depleting the agricultural labour force, making mechanisation not merely a productivity tool but a long-term necessity. Panellists argued that making agriculture attractive to young Nigerians requires investment in technology, digital tools and service-based agribusiness models that allow youth to participate without necessarily working on land themselves.

Conclusion

The food security panel at AgroFood Nigeria 2026 did not arrive at easy answers, nor did it pretend the path ahead is straightforward. What it did produce was a clear-eyed diagnosis and a credible set of priorities: invest in farm gate processing to reduce post-harvest losses, build farmer clusters to unlock financing and mechanisation, deploy solar energy to bypass infrastructure deficits, establish de-risking mechanisms to bring financial institutions into the sector, and pursue AfCFTA opportunities by processing commodities rather than exporting them raw.

The broader message at The 11th Agrofood Nigeria Trade Show & Conference was that Nigeria's food security challenge is, at its core, an economic and structural problem that requires coordinated public-private action. The discussions signalled growing consensus among industry leaders that incremental interventions are no longer sufficient. What is needed is a systems-level transformation, one that treats agriculture not as a social welfare concern but as the economic engine it has always been.