Vice President Kashim Shettima has launched the $500 million Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund, describing it as a major initiative to strengthen food security, attract private investment and reposition agriculture as a key driver of Nigeria’s economy.
The fund was unveiled during the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit held in Abuja and jointly organised by the Office of the Vice President and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Shettima said the investment fund is designed to mobilise financing across the agricultural value chain and transform the Niger Delta into a major food production hub despite its long-standing dependence on oil resources.
He noted that Nigeria’s economic prosperity before the discovery of crude oil was built on agriculture, stressing that no nation can achieve lasting stability without guaranteeing food security for its people.
The Vice President recalled that the groundnut pyramids of Northern Nigeria, cocoa plantations in the South-West and palm produce from the South-East and Niger Delta once funded the country’s early development, including schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure.
He, however, lamented that the oil boom shifted national attention away from agriculture, leading to increased dependence on food imports instead of domestic production.
Shettima commended the Niger Delta for embracing agricultural diversification rather than relying solely on oil revenues, describing the move as a return to the region’s rich agricultural heritage.
According to him, the fund will operate as a commercial, investment-driven platform supporting sectors including aquaculture, palm oil, cassava, cocoa, rice, horticulture, livestock and marine resources.
He disclosed that the initiative will coordinate funding commitments from development finance institutions, including the World Bank, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, alongside private sector investors.
The Vice President also announced that the newly established Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Council, which he will chair, will provide policy direction for the initiative, while the NDDC will serve as its secretariat.
Shettima said President Bola Tinubu prioritised food security immediately after assuming office by declaring a state of emergency on food security in July 2023, with government interventions focused on increasing agricultural production, stabilising food markets and improving access to food.
He highlighted ongoing agricultural initiatives under the administration, including the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, which targets the deployment of 10,000 tractors over five years, as well as local tractor assembly projects, the John Deere Tractorisation Programme, the Greener Hope Project and the Green Imperative Programme.
According to the Vice President, the interventions are already producing positive results, with prices of several staple food items reportedly declining significantly in recent months.
He urged investors, development partners and state governments to take advantage of the new fund by investing in agriculture to drive economic growth, create jobs and strengthen food security across the Niger Delta and the country.
Other speakers at the summit also stressed the importance of agriculture in promoting regional development, attracting investment and expanding economic opportunities, while calling for stronger collaboration among governments, development partners and the private sector to unlock the Niger Delta’s vast agricultural potential.
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