Nigeria's Procurement Agency Urges Inclusivity in Agriculture Sector

News in Brief

-Nigeria's procurement office and other Stakeholders have urged for comprehensive reforms to make the agricultural procurement system fairer and more accessible for women, youth, and small-scale farmers.

-Experts agree that tackling barriers to participation is essential for boosting food security and reducing poverty nationwide.

The Bureau of Public Procurement and other stakeholders in Nigeria have called for reforms in the agriculture sector to make procurement more inclusive, especially for women, youth and small-scale farmers.

They made the call at a recent workshop, on “Inclusivity in Agriculture Procurement” in Abuja, organised by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). The event was done in collaboration with the International Budget Partnership and the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria, under the “Engaging for Systems Change and Transformation” project.

Director General of the BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, represented by the Head of Research, Training and Strategic Planning, Adesina Mokuolu, noted that agriculture, which engages millions of Nigerians, including women and small-scale farmers, is the backbone of Nigeria’s economy. Yet, the current procurement practices in the sector still create barriers for rural communities, women entrepreneurs, and young people seeking to benefit from government initiatives, he warns.

He further explained that inclusivity in agricultural procurement involves broadening access to decision-making, funding, and participation for all stakeholders, particularly women, youths, and vulnerable groups. 

According to him, this requires deliberate policies and practices to ensure that smallholder farmers, women entrepreneurs, and rural communities are not excluded from benefiting directly from government investments in agriculture.

Barriers hindering inclusion and growth in the agric sector

Highlighting the barriers to inclusion, Dr Adebowale Adedokun identified several issues holding back broad-based participation in agricultural procurement:

• Limited access to credit and market information weakens competitiveness for smallholder farmers.
• Gender bias and bureaucratic hurdles often exclude women and youth from bidding and local opportunities.
• Existing structural barriers—including poor outreach and limited training—prevent vulnerable groups from accessing support programs

He stressed that overcoming these challenges is not only a matter of fairness but vital to achieving food security, poverty reduction, and sustainable development in Nigeria. 

While calling for renewed collective action in the sector, including stronger transparency, policy reform, and targeted capacity-building, he particularly recommended opening up procurement processes and investing in the voices and skills of marginalised groups.

Need for more transparency and accountability

Acknowledging progress made already, Dr Adedokun noted that the BPP has already strengthened transparency, fairness, and competitiveness in public procurement, including within the agricultural sector.

He, however, appealed to policymakers, community leaders and international partners to drive reforms, promote capacity-building, and amplify the voices of women and youth farmers in procurement processes.

The Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, echoed the urgency for reform. He noted that agriculture is Nigeria’s largest employer, and bridging gaps in procurement is essential for inclusive economic growth. 

Onyekpere called for greater transparency and accountability across the sector to ensure that no group is sidelined and that poverty is addressed more effectively.

He called for government efforts to directly impact all players, ensuring no group is sidelined