17th September 2025
The Federal Government has reeled out a number new incentives to encourage agricultural investment, with a possibility of creating 21 million jobs opportunities across the country.
Vice President Kashim Shettima who outlined the plans at the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s National and Subregional Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum in Abuja, on behalf of the government also pledged of reforms to expand irrigation, improve access to credit and create millions of rural jobs under President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda.
Shettima, described hunger as “the great equaliser that reveals our vulnerabilities and the shared fragility of our existence.”
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Revealing details of the meeting in a statement titled, ‘More incentives farmers as FG unveils new agric investment incentives, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, said the measures include single-window platforms for land registration, strengthened agricultural credit systems, large-scale mechanisation, and strategic irrigation projects.
Nigeria has been under pressure to cut its reliance on imports and address food insecurity, which worsened after fuel subsidy removal and currency reforms deepened inflation in 2023.
The unveiling comes as rising food prices and climate shocks have necessitated long-term investment in the sector.
Shettima noted that Nigeria had the capacity to irrigate more than three million hectares of farmland but currently uses less than 10 percent of that potential.
“Strategic investment in irrigation alone could triple yields, free us from seasonal dependency, and fortify our resilience against climate shocks,” he stated.
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“Nothing unifies humanity as much as hunger. It is the great equaliser that reveals our vulnerabilities and the shared fragility of our existence.
“Food is not merely a matter of survival, it is a matter of global security,” Shettima added.
The Vice President noted that Nigeria’s blueprint under the 2021–2025 National Development Plan aims to lift 35 million people out of poverty, create 21 million jobs in rural communities and secure food and nutrition sufficiency.
