Business
NABG: Advancing Agriculture For Sustainable Growth
Read the journey of Nigeria’s agricultural sector and its potential for growth and learn about the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG’s) efforts to uplift farmers and create employment opportunities.
Over the past decade, Nigeria’s agricultural sector has faced significant challenges despite various attempts by previous governments to improve its productivity. Factors such as insurgency, lack of affordable inputs for farmers, and other obstacles have hindered the sector’s progress.
However, research indicates that agriculture engages around 70% of Nigerians, highlighting its critical role in providing employment opportunities and driving economic growth. To address these issues and expand the frontiers of agricultural development, the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) has emerged as a leading civil society organization dedicated to growing Nigeria’s agricultural economy.
Role Of Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG)
The NABG, comprising influential business players in the agricultural sector, collaborates with local and global donor agencies and works closely with the government to enhance Nigeria’s agricultural economy. By creating an enabling environment for private capital investment and focusing on broadening the frontiers of agricultural growth, the NABG aims to lift millions out of poverty and generate employment opportunities for the country’s youth.
The Pre-Presidential Technical Meeting
Recently, the NABG organized a pre-presidential technical meeting to evaluate the agricultural sector’s performance over the past eight years. The objective was to set an agenda for the upcoming presidential roundtable summit, scheduled to take place in Abuja. The meeting brought together key partners, including Harvest Plus, the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC)/HortiNigeria, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). These stakeholders engaged in insightful discussions to identify critical areas for the sector’s development.
Objectives Of The Technical Meeting
The technical meeting served as a platform to bring together diverse perspectives and foster collaboration among stakeholders. The key objectives included shaping policies, exploring emerging trends, promoting sustainable agribusiness development for the next four years, and encouraging open and constructive dialogue on pressing issues in Nigeria’s agribusiness sector. Through evidence-based discussions, participants aimed to address challenges and develop innovative solutions while sharing their insights and experiences.
Focus Areas For Agricultural Development
The technical meeting aimed to lay the groundwork for the upcoming presidential roundtable summit, focusing on key aspects such as the digital transformation of the sector, integration of the value chain, and enhancing national food security. Participants delved into topics such as agric technologies, precision agriculture, market trends, consumer preferences, and the assessment of environments conducive to sustainable farming practices. Furthermore, the meeting highlighted the need to review agricultural policies, regulatory landscapes for export and global trade, logistics in farm-to-table movements, and addressing post-harvest losses and weak storage facilities.
The Importance Of Collaboration And Support
Recognizing the significance of collective efforts, stakeholders emphasized the crucial role of collaboration in achieving food security and improving nutritional outcomes. The Country Manager of Harvest Plus, Yusuf Dollah, stressed the importance of maintaining and sustaining food production quality for both local consumption and exports. Dr. Michael Ojo, the Country Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), emphasized the need to address malnutrition, food insecurity, and limited economic opportunities, especially for the 80% of Nigerians facing these challenges.
Supporting Smallholder Farmers And Incentives
To transform agriculture and support smallholder farmers, stakeholders highlighted the necessity of creating an enabling environment and investing in requisite technologies. Dr. Michael Ojo, Country Director of GAIN, emphasized the role of governments and relevant stakeholders in providing incentives and support to smallholder farmers. Dr. Abdullahi Umar, the representative of IFDC/HortiNigeria, pledged their willingness to collaborate and partner with the NABG in advancing the growth of the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
The Planned Presidential Retreat
Building on the collaborative efforts of the NABG and other stakeholders, the upcoming presidential retreat holds the promise of unveiling new strategies for Nigeria’s agricultural development. In the face of challenges posed by climate change, it is imperative to take deliberate measures to address the issues affecting agriculture. One potential game-changer is the proposed project to recharge Lake Chad by channeling the Bangi River, which could create opportunities for massive agricultural production and establish agro-industrial corridors and hubs for the export of food and agro-allied products.
Climate Change Policies And Opportunities
The NABG has been actively involved in climate change policies, collaborating with the National Council for Climate Change and other critical stakeholders. Agricultural activities contribute significantly to Nigeria’s national determined contributions (NDCs), making it crucial to develop implementation frameworks for climate-smart agriculture. Such frameworks, when ratified and implemented, will guide policy efforts and provide tools for monitoring and evaluation. Furthermore, Nigeria has the potential to leverage carbon trading opportunities, enabling communities to adapt and build resilience while benefiting from economic mobilization.
Looking Ahead To The Presidential Roundtable Retreat
As Nigeria eagerly awaits the first presidential roundtable retreat on agribusiness, there is a growing sense of optimism that the country is poised to unleash its agricultural potential. The NABG, along with its partners, aims to present a comprehensive report to the new administration, highlighting the challenges hindering the sector’s development and providing actionable recommendations. By walking the talk and fostering collaboration among stakeholders, Nigeria can pave the way for sustainable growth and unlock the immense opportunities within the agricultural sector.
The agricultural sector plays a crucial role in Nigeria’s economy, and there is a pressing need to overcome the challenges that have hampered its growth. The Nigeria Agribusiness Group, in collaboration with local and global partners, is committed to driving the country’s agricultural development by creating an enabling environment, fostering collaboration, and implementing innovative solutions. The recent pre-presidential technical meeting and the upcoming presidential roundtable summit offer valuable platforms for stakeholders to shape policies, address critical issues, and explore opportunities for sustainable agribusiness. With collective efforts and a renewed commitment to agricultural advancement, Nigeria can embark on a transformative journey towards realizing its agricultural potential and ensuring food security for its citizens.
Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, has clarified why its Benin to Abuja flight P47171 was delayed in the air on Friday.
In a statement issued by the Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, Air Peace Airline on Saturday stated that during the aircraft’s descent into Abuja, the flight encountered turbulence as a result of adverse weather conditions, including thunderstorms.
The statement further stressed that in line with global aviation safety standards, “our crew activated appropriate safety protocols and held in a holding pattern until weather conditions improved.”
Social media users complained on Saturday that the aircraft hung in the air longer than necessary before landing.
Elanza news understands that when an aircraft is held in a holding pattern, this means the plane was instructed to fly a specific course around a designated point while waiting for permission from the control tower to proceed with its planned route, approach, or landing.
This is often due to factors like traffic congestion at the given airport, weather delays, or other operational issues that could result in an incident or accident if the aircraft had landed against instructions.
In simpler terms, a holding pattern is a temporary waiting area for an aircraft in the air, allowing it to remain airborne while awaiting further instructions for landing.
The statement further stated, “We are pleased to confirm that the aircraft landed safely and the passengers disembarked normally. Air Peace is unwavering in its commitment to ensuring the highest standards of safety across all our operations.”
IMF to FG: Enhance transparency in oil sector, contain borrowing
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Nigeria to enhance transparency in the oil sector to ensure that the subsidy removal savings are transferred to the government’s budget.
Abebe Selassie, the director of the African department at the IMF, gave the advice on Friday while presenting the findings of the Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa report at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, DC, the United States.
Selassie was responding to questions on the federal government’s reforms and Nigeria’s debt profile, which currently sits at N142.3 trillion as at September 2024.
Speaking to journalists, the director said the fund has been very impressed by the reforms Nigeria has undertaken to address microeconomic imbalances in the country.
The director said the subsidy was taking “a very large” share of the limited tax revenues, which was not effectively used to help the most vulnerable people.
“So it’s been really good to see the government taking these head on, and also beginning to roll out the third component of the reforms that we’ve been advocating for, [that] government has been pursuing, which is to expand social protection to target generalised subsidies to help the most vulnerable,” he said.
“This has all been very good to see, but more can be done, particularly on the latter front: expanding social protection and also enhancing a lot more transparency in the oil sector, so that the removal of subsidies does translate into flow of revenue into government budget.
“So, there’s still a bit more work to do in these areas.”
Selassie disclosed that the IMF had a mission in Nigeria, where discussions with the authorities focused on issues related to the nation’s macroeconomic conditions.
Still, the director advised the federal government to consider reforms in other areas to engender more private sector investment, and also how more resources can be “adopted” to help Nigeria generate the revenues needed to build more schools, universities, and infrastructure.
“So there’s a comprehensive set of reforms that Nigeria can pursue that would help engender more growth and help diversify the economy away from reliance on oil,”
“And this diversification is all the more important given what we’re seeing happening to commodity prices.”
Selassie acknowledged that while the government is undertaking reforms, there will be a financing need.
He urged the authorities to adopt “a judicious and agile” way of dealing with the financing challenges the country faces.
The IMF official said Nigeria’s financing gap “can only be filled” by permanent sources such as revenue mobilisation in the long run.
“But in the interim, carefully looking at all of the options the country has to borrow in a contained way, will be part of that solution,” he said.
“And I think the government has been going about this prudently and cautiously so far, and we’re encouraged by that.”
In January, the Debt Management Office(DMO) said the total domestic debt was N73.4 trillion ($45.8 billion) while the total external debt was N68.8 trillion ($43 billion).
The debt body said the increase was primarily due to rising domestic borrowing and the impact of exchange rate depreciation on external debt when converted to naira terms.
The Federal Government is set to launch the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism (NAPM) to strengthen agricultural productivity, stabilise food prices, and drive economic growth.
The NAPM is part of broader initiatives aimed at transforming the country’s agricultural sector through data-driven policies and public-private partnerships.
Speaking on Friday in Abuja during a meeting of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) Steering Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the initiative will align agricultural efforts across all government tiers through real-time data analytics.
“The Green Imperative Project (GIP) is an idea whose time has come. It has been in the incubation period for several years, and now it is coming to fruition; we have to get it right.
“We have had many interventions in this country in the past. We must make this work, and it’s the states that will drive the process,” the Vice President said.
Signed between Nigeria and Brazil on March 17, 2025, the Green Imperative Project (GIP) is a $1.1 billion initiative aimed to modernise 774 mid-sized Nigerian farms with Brazilian agricultural technologies, creating jobs and boosting productivity across the nation.
VP Shettima further said President Bola Tinubu has approved ₦15 billion for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to prepare for floods as the rainy season kicks in.
“This is one of the first proactive decisions by the government to prepare for the flooding season,” the Vice President noted.
Earlier, the Technical Assistant to the President on Agriculture and Executive Secretary of PFSCU, Marion Moon, explained that NAPM aims to address challenges of high food inflation and agricultural yields that lag 60 per cent behind global averages.
She revealed that the pilot survey for NAPM has been completed across 13 states, with a full launch planned for June 2025.
The NAPM, supported by data analytics partnerships and a digital platform under development, is designed to tackle food inflation, inefficient subsidies, and outdated farming practices, to give the country a unified framework to optimise public spending and drive sustainable rural development.
Those present at the meeting included Governors of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi, and Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji; Deputy Governors of Borno State, Umar Kadafur, and Ebonyi State, Patricia Onyemaechi Obila.
Others are Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari; Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi; Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance; heads of agriculture and manufacturing private sector players, and international development partners.