By Simeon Shodimu
As food prices continue to rise across Nigeria, agricultural stakeholders are urging the government to move beyond short-term interventions and adopt comprehensive reforms capable of securing the nation’s food future. From weak logistics and insecurity to climate change and poor storage systems, experts say the country’s food inflation crisis reflects deep-rooted structural problems that require urgent and coordinated action.
Industry operators and agricultural consultants who spoke separately with Daily Independent stressed that achieving sustainable food price stability would require stronger government participation in farming, expanded irrigation systems, improved storage and transportation infrastructure, and aggressive investment in climate-smart agriculture.
Food Transportation Now a National Security Issue Managing Director of BIC Farms Concept, Adebowale Onafowora, argued that the movement of food across the country should be treated as a national security priority.According
to him, extortion and harassment faced by food transporters along major routes continue to inflate the cost of food commodities nationwide.
He called for strict sanctions against officials involved in exploiting food transporters, insisting that dismissals and prosecutions would help sanitise food supply chains and reduce unnecessary costs passed on to consumers.
Onafowora also criticised policies that favour food imports, urging the government to redirect such incentives toward local farmers through a “Guaranteed Buy-Back” programme. Under such a system, he explained, government would commit to purchasing excess produce from farmers at fair prices, thereby encouraging higher production.
According to him, farmers are more likely to cultivate aggressively when assured of stable markets and guaranteed returns on investment.
He further advocated the adoption of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), including greenhouse farming and other protected cultivation systems, warning that Nigeria can no longer depend solely on seasonal weather patterns for food production, particularly vegetables.
Irrigation and Climate-Smart Agriculture Key to Stability
Senior Associate Consultant at FutuX Agri-consult Limited, Oyewole Okewole, identified year-round irrigation farming as one of the most sustainable solutions to food shortages and unstable prices.
He noted that Nigeria’s dependence on rainfall makes agricultural production vulnerable to climate disruptions, droughts and changing weather conditions. To address this, he called for large-scale investment in irrigation infrastructure, greenhouse systems, drip irrigation technologies and heat-resistant crop varieties.
Okewole pointed to climate-resilient varieties developed by the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) as critical tools that could help farmers adapt to rising temperatures and extreme weather conditions.
Beyond production, he stressed the importance of expanding food processing and preservation industries, including tomato paste factories, drying facilities and agro-processing centres, to reduce post-harvest losses and absorb surplus produce during peak harvest periods.
According to him, strengthening Nigeria’s cold-chain logistics system remains one of the most urgent interventions needed to curb food waste, especially for highly perishable commodities.
He also advocated stronger farmer cooperatives and aggregation centres to improve access to financing, logistics coordination and market bargaining power.
Among other recommendations, Okewole urged the government to formulate a National Horticulture Development Strategy, invest in rural roads and storage infrastructure through public-private partnerships, provide subsidies for greenhouse and irrigation technologies, and expand agricultural insurance schemes.
Government Must Become an Active Player in Agriculture
National President of the Tomato and Orchard Producers Association of Nigeria (TOPAN), Bola Oyeleke, maintained that the government must move beyond policy regulation and become directly involved in food production and distribution.
According to him, Nigeria remains one of the few countries where government participation in agriculture is minimal despite the sector’s strategic role in national security and economic growth.
He argued that existing mechanisation efforts remain grossly inadequate, noting that the number of tractors, improved seeds and farming inputs currently available cannot meet the demands of Nigeria’s growing population.
Oyeleke called for increased government involvement in food off-taking and storage systems, insisting that government should function as the nation’s largest buyer of agricultural produce in order to stabilise prices and maintain strategic food reserves.
He also advocated stronger investment in agro-security operations, including improved equipment and technology for agro-rangers tasked with protecting farms and forest zones from criminal activities.
Building a Commercially Integrated Food System
Chief Operating Officer of Eliakim Integrated Services Limited, Austine Gbenga Adeniba, warned that temporary interventions such as market raids and import waivers cannot permanently solve Nigeria’s food inflation crisis.
According to him, the country’s recurring food shortages are rooted in long-standing structural challenges including insecurity, poor infrastructure, weak logistics, climate vulnerability, low productivity and inconsistent policy implementation.
Adeniba argued that Nigeria must transition from subsistence agriculture to a modern, climate-resilient and commercially integrated food system capable of supporting sustainable food production and stable market supply.
He said a coordinated national agricultural transformation strategy focused on productivity, infrastructure, value addition, processing capacity and market efficiency would not only stabilise food prices but also reduce imports, improve farmer incomes, create jobs and strengthen national food security.
