Honourable Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has given more insight into the Federal Government’s plan to disburse ₦250 billion in loans to smallholder farmers across Nigeria. The Minister spoke during the FCT Brief on TVC News where he explained that the intervention is aimed at tackling food inflation, improving local food production, and reducing dependence on food imports.
According to the Minister, the new loan support is part of a broader strategy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s food security agenda. He said, “We want what I would call food sovereignty where we are able to produce what we eat and eat what we produce. Nigeria is a blessed country, we have arable land, hardworking farmers and indeed hardworking Nigerians. But Nigerians will not eat potential, so we need to bring out programs and policies that will ensure that food is provided and available all year round.”
The loan facility will be spread across different farmer groups in the six geopolitical zones and is expected to support the production of staple crops such as rice, maize, and cassava. Abdullahi stressed that the government is working hard to make sure genuine smallholder farmers are the beneficiaries. He said, “Our intention is very clear. We want to get down to the root of making sure that if we are dealing with one million farmers, we know these are farmers that we know their farm locations and we have the figure and the number.”
Concerns were raised by the All Farmers Association of Nigeria that loans of this nature may end up in the hands of portfolio farmers rather than the real farmers. Responding to that, the Minister noted, “His fears are justified. They are the operators on the ground and of course, we are two years in government. Since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over, he has not shown doubt about what he wants to do in terms of food security. Because he may not be aware of what is being planned that is why he is saying what he is saying. But let me make it abundantly clear that our mission is to transform the agricultural sector and we have always carried the farmer organizations along.”
Abdullahi explained that the government is working with different farmer associations and cooperative societies, while also using technology to properly identify genuine farmers. He pointed out that past challenges with programmes like the Anchor Borrowers Scheme provided lessons on what should not be repeated. “When the Anchor Borrowers was planned, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture was not carried along. That is why it was anchored by the CBN itself. At the end of the day, all kinds of things came on board. The lesson to be drawn is that we should not take that path again,” he said.
He added that agriculture is time-bound and requires proper planning. For this reason, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has now established the Federal Department of Agricultural Data and Analytics to strengthen data collection and analysis in the sector. This is expected to improve monitoring and ensure transparency in disbursement.
The Minister also highlighted the importance of logistics in food distribution, which is a major driver of food prices. He said, “If food is taken from Kano and transported to Lagos, Ibadan or Port Harcourt, the cost of transporting this food beyond the original price is passed to the consumer. The government is now fully aware. Studies have been conducted and joint actions are being taken to address this challenge.”
On the role of states and local governments in the scheme, Abdullahi confirmed that a whole-of-government approach has been adopted. He explained that President Tinubu has approved the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit under the Office of the Vice President to bring together state governments, farmer groups, and private sector players. “This ₦250 billion is going to be supported by this particular platform in terms of who should benefit and what are the key methodologies and approaches that should be taken,” he said.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has also directed that the ₦250 billion facility be disbursed at a single-digit interest rate and tasked the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit to produce an implementation roadmap to ensure that genuine farmers benefit without delay.
The Minister stressed that achieving food security in Nigeria is not a one-off project but a sustained process. He said, “You don’t say because you have bumper harvest this year you go to sleep. No, you must sustain it. That is why we are promoting an all-year-round farming policy regime which means for all of the 12 months we must have activities in the agricultural sector whether producing maize, rice, cassava, tomato, onions and the like.”
He added that special attention is being given to commodities such as tomato, onions, and pepper which are known to trigger inflation when their prices rise. By boosting production of these commodities and strengthening supply chains, the government hopes to stabilize food prices and improve affordability for citizens.
Abdullahi assured Nigerians that the disbursement process will be closely monitored to ensure transparency, accountability, and direct impact on smallholder farmers who form the backbone of Nigeria’s agricultural workforce.