Nigeria’s Agriculture Lags in Technology —Ex-AfDB Adviser Warns

News in brief:

-A former AfDB adviser says Nigeria’s agriculture is stagnant in technology adoption and cannot support economic development without industrialisation.

-He urges stable policies, mechanisation, research-driven production, and stronger value chains, while Oyo State highlights ongoing reforms and agro-industrial projects.

Prof. Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, a former Senior Special Adviser on Industrialisation to the African Development Bank (AfDB), has warned that Nigeria’s agriculture remains too technologically backward to support sustainable economic growth, food security, or poverty reduction. He made the statement during a lecture titled** Industrializing Agriculture for Economic Development and Food Security at the Oyo State International Agribusiness Summit 2025 in Ibadan.

The development economist stated that Nigeria is at a 'critical crossroads,' and that despite its vast arable land, the country remains food-deficient and heavily dependent on imports of wheat, rice, sugar, and fish.

He also expressed concern over Nigeria’s ₦1 trillion annual food import bill, noting that the trend undermines local production, weakens agro-processing, destroys jobs, and suppresses manufacturing competitiveness.

Agriculture Must Become an Industry

Oyelaran-Oyeyinka emphasised that industrialising agriculture is the only viable pathway for resource-rich countries like Nigeria that rely excessively on imports. He argued that Nigeria’s growth remains weak because agriculture is still treated as a subsistence occupation instead of a science-driven, value-adding industry.

“You cannot build a competitive economy on the back of raw commodity exports and food imports. That model guarantees poverty. Real development begins when agriculture feeds industry and industry feeds exports,” he said.

Policy Instability Hurting Farmers

The ex-AfDB adviser criticised Nigeria’s policy inconsistencies. He spotlighted the frequent import bans and quick reversals, saying such disruptions destroy farmer confidence and discourage private investment.

“When government crashes the price of locally produced commodities through unplanned imports, you wipe out a full year of farmers’ labour and push them out of business,” he said.

He added that countries like Brazil, Malaysia, and Vietnam achieved transformation by integrating agriculture with processing, logistics, storage, and manufacturing.

Call for Research, Mechanisation, and Stronger Value Chains

The professor urged federal and state governments to stabilise agricultural policies, strengthen research institutes, improve farmer financing, and create efficient market-linked value chains.

“Agri-industrialization is not about tractors on television. It is about science, data, processing plants, efficient logistics, and competitive clusters that turn raw produce into export-grade products,” he stated.

Without urgent reforms, he warned, Nigeria will continue to face food inflation, job losses, and declining productivity.

“This economy will not grow on oil. It must grow on the agro-industrial value chain,” he insisted.

Oyo Prioritising Agribusiness Transformation

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said his administration is committed to repositioning agriculture as a viable business, not a subsistence activity. He noted that the state began by strengthening partnerships with leading research institutes to modernise farming models.

Makinde highlighted ongoing work on the Oyo Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones in Iseyin and Iruwa, stating that land preparation is underway, investors are being onboarded, and the zones will soon become operational.

“These will create investment-ready clusters that will drive jobs and exports,” he said.

Nigeria Exporting Wealth, Importing Poverty

Director-General of the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency, Dr Debo Akande, described Oyo as Nigeria’s agribusiness industrial hub, while lamenting that the country still exports raw commodities and imports finished food products.

Citing official data, Akande noted that Nigeria recorded ₦1.3 trillion in agricultural exports in Q2 2025, mostly raw produce, compared with Brazil’s US$125 billion agricultural export value, 72% of which consists of processed foods.

In a video message, the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Peter Lindner, commended Oyo State for aligning with global agribusiness best practices and reaffirmed Belgium’s willingness to strengthen partnerships in the sector.