FG and Enugu push farm-to-market plan as food prices bite
- Federal and Enugu State officials met in Enugu to push farming that feeds factories and markets, not just households.
- Governor Peter Mbah said over 60,000 farmers have been supported and 84,000 registered digitally.
- Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari said farm input support has reached over 115,000 people in 25 states and the FCT.
Federal and Enugu State officials say they are putting money and machinery behind a plan to move Nigerian farming from subsistence to business — growing crops, processing them and selling the finished goods at home and abroad.
They spoke at the 48th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Food Security, held at Hotel Presidential in Enugu. Commissioners and delegates from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory attended, along with development partners.
The meeting's theme was strengthening agricultural value chains, agro-industrialisation and market access for economic growth.
What Enugu is doing
Governor Peter Mbah said producing more food alone will not change lives. Farmers, he said, must be linked to machines, processing plants and buyers.
He said his government wants to grow Enugu's economy from about $4.4 billion to $30 billion by 2031, with agriculture as a key driver.
According to the governor, more than 60,000 farmers have benefited from state support programmes, while 84,000 have been entered into a digital register so interventions reach the right people.
He listed the state's efforts:
- A 260 Farm Estates Programme, with production hubs planned in every ward of the state.
- An Agricultural Land Bank holding about 187,000 hectares secured through partnerships with communities.
- 107 tractors assembled with Nortra Tractors.
- Expansion of the Enugu United Palm Products Limited plantation to 6,917 hectares, creating more than 3,500 jobs.
- Revival of Enugu Songhai Farms with Tribu Limited as a 10,000-hectare agro-industrial hub, and the restart of Sunrise Flour Mills.
- An Integrated Livestock Development Centre at Ubahu, built to hold between 15,000 and 20,000 cattle.
Mbah said the aim is to keep more of the value from farm produce inside the state's economy, and he invited private investors and other states to partner with Enugu.
What the Federal Government says
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Abubakar Kyari said the National Agricultural Development Fund's Farm Input Support Programme has reached more than 115,000 beneficiaries across 25 states and the FCT.
The fund, he said, has disbursed ₦16.27 billion through agribusiness financing facilities, while the Bank of Agriculture has financed more than 500,000 smallholder farmers.
Kyari said the second phase of the Renewed Hope National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme is expected to bring 1,500 more tractors and over 8,000 pieces of supporting equipment.
He put Nigeria's economic growth at 4.43 percent in the second quarter of 2026, with agriculture growing 4.39 percent and contributing 26.15 percent of real Gross Domestic Product.
Enugu's Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Patrick Ubru, said the state expects agriculture to add $12 billion to its $30 billion target by 2031. The state will provide warehouses for storing and sharing farm inputs, he said.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security Sabi Abdullahi urged stakeholders to carry out the meeting's resolutions.
What happens next
The council's decisions now depend on implementation by federal and state agencies. For ordinary Nigerians, the test will be whether more tractors, inputs and processing plants translate into cheaper food and more farm jobs.
