The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, CON, has highlighted the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural sector through improved coordination of investments, infrastructure, financing, value chains and market access.
Kyari made the remarks while attending the launch of the Nigeria AgriConnect Compact at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan on September 25th, 2026.
The AgriConnect Compact is designed as a framework for bringing together existing and future investments in agriculture and aligning them towards shared national development outcomes. The initiative seeks to improve coordination across different areas of the agricultural value chain while creating stronger opportunities for farmers, agribusinesses and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, the Minister noted that Nigeria has already made significant investments in critical areas of agriculture, including irrigation, mechanisation, infrastructure, finance, research, processing and market access.
According to him, the major challenge is not only making investments in these areas but ensuring that they are properly connected and coordinated to generate greater impact across the agricultural sector.
Kyari explained that the AgriConnect Compact provides a platform for aligning existing and future investments around shared national objectives, with particular emphasis on strengthening agricultural value chains and expanding access to finance.
He said the framework would help create stronger linkages between agricultural production and other stages of the value chain, including processing, storage, marketing and access to markets.
The Minister further stressed the importance of building a more productive and resilient agricultural sector capable of responding to emerging challenges while creating sustainable opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses.
According to him, the Compact focuses on strengthening the foundations required for productive and resilient agriculture, improving the policy environment for agribusiness and developing a financial ecosystem capable of expanding access to capital.
The initiative also places emphasis on improving farmers’ access to essential agricultural inputs and infrastructure. This includes access to quality seeds, fertiliser and irrigation facilities, which remain critical to improving agricultural productivity and strengthening food production.
Under its long-term targets, AgriConnect aims to create 2.56 million direct jobs by 2030, while providing access to quality seeds and fertiliser for 9.54 million farmers.
The initiative also targets the provision of irrigation infrastructure across 90,000 hectares of farmland with the objective of supporting more reliable agricultural production and improving farmers’ ability to cultivate throughout different production cycles.
The emphasis on irrigation is particularly significant as reliable water supply remains an important factor in increasing agricultural productivity and reducing dependence on rainfall.
Beyond production, the AgriConnect Compact seeks to strengthen the broader agricultural ecosystem by connecting farmers with finance, infrastructure, technology, markets and other services required to build sustainable agribusinesses.
The framework is expected to support stronger collaboration among government institutions, development partners, private-sector investors, financial institutions, research organisations, farmers and other stakeholders within Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
The launch at IITA also underscores the importance of research and innovation in Nigeria’s agricultural transformation agenda. Institutions such as IITA play a significant role in developing and promoting technologies and approaches that can improve productivity, resilience and value addition across agricultural value chains.
With the AgriConnect Compact, the Federal Government is seeking to move beyond isolated agricultural interventions towards a more coordinated approach in which investments across different parts of the sector complement one another.
The initiative is therefore positioned around the need to strengthen the connection between farmers, inputs, finance, infrastructure, technology, processing and markets, creating a more integrated agricultural system.
Kyari reiterated that stronger coordination of investments and policies would be essential to achieving greater impact and building an agricultural sector capable of supporting economic growth, employment creation and improved food production.
The AgriConnect Compact is expected to serve as a framework for aligning agricultural interventions and investments towards common national objectives, while expanding opportunities for farmers and agribusiness stakeholders across Nigeria.
As Nigeria continues to pursue agricultural transformation, the initiative places renewed emphasis on building an ecosystem where increased production is supported by adequate infrastructure, finance, processing capacity and reliable market connections.
The 2030 targets of 2.56 million direct jobs, 9.54 million farmers gaining access to quality seeds and fertiliser, and 90,000 hectares equipped with irrigation infrastructure highlight the scale of the initiative and its focus on linking agricultural investment with measurable development outcomes.
