Tilling on hard ground – The Nation Newspaper

Nigeria’s agricultural landscape in 2025 presents a paradoxical picture of cautious optimism shadowed by persistent structural challenges. Beneath agricultural figures lies a more complex reality of technological promise wrestling with harsh institutional and environmental constraints, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

The year began with an institutional shift with the Ministry of Livestock Development marshalling the National Livestock Master Plan, which acknowledges that livestock, contributing roughly 17 per cent of agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP), could no longer be relegated to secondary status behind crop farming. 

At the sub-national level, Lagos State government also launched ambitious initiatives including the N500 billion “Produce for Lagos” programme.  Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya said that the initiative is an intervention to transform Lagos’ food ecosystem through public-private partnerships engagement. Olusanya said that the programme would focus on private sector investment, bulk aggregation towards reducing costs, streamlining food value chains as well as reducing post-harvest losses.She added that the initiative is in collaboration with some states and the private sector would not only promote urban agriculture but also establish food supply partnerships with other states to compensate for Lagos’ land limitations.

“The programme targets robust inter-state collaboration and private sector involvement as essential to achieving food resilience and market stability in Nigeria’s commercial capital. These moves signal governmental recognition that agriculture remains central to Nigeria’s economic survival and food security objectives.

The year witnessed an unprecedented surge in agri-tech interventions, from AI-driven soil mapping to drone-assisted pest monitoring. These innovations have indeed increased productivity for large-scale commercial farms with access to capital and infrastructure. The Bank of Agriculture announced ongoing reforms to improve access to finance for farmers, including digitalisation of agricultural lending for faster credit delivery and plans to raise the N250,000 maximum limit on micro-loans for smallholder farmers. Foreign partnerships also show promise, with Qatar expressing investment interest in  the agricultural sector during high-level discussions in May 2025. The African Development Bank, in collaboration with the  government, inaugurated the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Project in Kaduna, part of a broader strategy to address food insecurity and modernize agricultural practices.

Markets in Lagos and other key cities markets have recorded a marginal reduction in the prices of some staple foods, offering relief to consumers grappling with months of steep inflation. However, market data reveal conflicting trends, with gains in affordability for some items offset by fresh surges in others.

The prices of food items such as rice, garri and yam  reduced drastically across the nation.

A 50kg bag of rice which was usually sold for N75,000 now sells for N60,000. A 10kg gallon of garri which was sold for N7,600 in November now sells for N5,000. Also, a tuber of yam which was initially purchased at N2,500 now sells for N1,900, while a 50kg bag of beans, which was bought at N34,000 previously, now sells for N30,000.

In Lagos, the price of rice has equally dropped significantly Mushin and Daleko markets,  the price of a 50kg pof rice now goes for N54,000 away from N75,000 which it was sold in Novermber and before then.

 Observations

However, the gap between policy ambition and ground reality remains troublingly wide. The crop sector showed modest recovery in 2025, particularly for staples such as  rice, maize, and cassava. This rebound stemmed largely from improved rainfall patterns in the North-West and South-West zones and a gradual stabilisation of the Naira, which helped reduce the cost of imported agricultural inputs.

The nation’s continued reliance on rain-fed agriculture, which dominates the farming landscape, leaves food production vulnerable to climate shocks. Excessive flooding in states  such as Borno and Bauchi earlier in the year exposed the catastrophic inadequacy of drainage and irrigation infrastructure, which still covers less than 1% of total arable land. The 2025 National Agricultural Extension Review and Planning Meeting, held at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in early December, brought these contradictions into sharp focus. The four-day gathering of 229 participants from National Agricultural Research Institutes, Agricultural Development Programmes, and various development agencies painted a sobering picture of the sector’s operational challenges. Climate change emerged as an existential threat, with flood-related losses now exceeding N700 billion annually. Farmers reported grappling with irregular rainfall, heat stress, pest outbreaks, soil degradation, recurrent flooding, and climate-induced conflicts that compound the already difficult task of feeding a growing population. Over the course of the meeting, 26 ADPs and 11 NARIs presented their extension reports, which were technically reviewed, leading to the adoption of a harmonized 2026 calendar of extension activities.

Participants expressed deep concern over the devastating effects of climate change on Nigeria’s farming systems, noting that flood related losses now exceed N700 billion annually, with farmers grappling with irregular rainfall, heat stress, pest outbreaks, soil degradation, recurrent flooding and climate induced conflicts.

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They also observed that unreliable internet access, low digital literacy and minimal use of smartphones for agricultural purposes continue to hinder e-extension service delivery.

The meeting further noted that women, youth and persons with disabilities remained key contributors to agriculture but still faced systemic barriers in accessing land, credit, technology and training.

Stakeholders lamented the extremely low extension worker-to-farmer ratio of 1:6,466 far below the FAO recommendation of 1:800.

The post-harvest loss crisis represents another hemorrhaging wound in  the  agricultural economy. Current estimates place annual losses at a staggering N3.5 trillion, with up to 40% of harvested crops perishing before reaching consumers. This figure far exceeds the African average and reflects the chronic inadequacy of storage facilities, inefficient transportation networks, limited access to modern preservation technologies, and critically deficient cold chain infrastructure.

To improve the storage of perishable goods and pharmaceutical products, the Netherlands government, in partnership with Lagos State, developed and launched the Polar Store, an innovative solar-powered cold storage infrastructure in the state.

Funding constraints continue to strangle the sector’s potential. At the extension services level, only 4-8% of the already meager agricultural budget reaches those crucial advisory services. The extension worker-to-farmer ratio stands at an alarming 1:6,466, far below the FAO recommendation of 1:800. This severe deficit leaves smallholder farmers without the technical knowledge necessary to adopt high-yield seeds, implement effective pest control methods, or navigate the increasingly complex agricultural landscape. Delayed release of research funds further hampers innovation, creating a vicious cycle where knowledge generation and dissemination both suffer.

 The stakeholders at the Zaria extension meeting noted that unreliable internet access, low digital literacy, and minimal use of smartphones for agricultural purposes continue to hinder e-extension service delivery. The average smallholder, often located in areas with poor connectivity and no access to credit, according to the meeting remains excluded from this technological revolution. Without deliberate efforts to democratize these technologies through affordable mechanization and mobile-based extension services, the meeting noted that the sector’s growth will likely remain concentrated among wealthy agro-industrialists, exacerbating existing inequalities.

The livestock subsector, despite receiving new institutional attention, continues to struggle with fundamental value chain problems. The transition from open grazing to ranching systems, while gaining policy traction, faces resistance and implementation challenges. High animal mortality rates and poor veterinary health infrastructure plague the industry.

The 2025 extension review meeting concluded with recommendations for intensified development and dissemination of climate-smart technologies, improved digital literacy for farmers, targeted empowerment programmes for vulnerable groups, recruitment of more extension agents, adequate budgetary allocation with timely fund release, strengthened farmer outreach mechanisms, strict regulation ensuring subsidized inputs reach genuine farmers, improved infrastructure and rural security, and greater professionalism in agricultural appointments. A committee was constituted to consolidate these outcomes and guide follow-up actions.