Vice President Kashim Shettima has launched a $500 million Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund, describing it as a major step towards strengthening Nigeria’s food security, attracting investment and reviving the country’s agricultural economy.
The fund was unveiled on Wednesday in Abuja during the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit, jointly organised by the Office of the Vice President and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Speaking at the event, Shettima said agriculture remains the foundation of national development, noting that countries can only achieve lasting stability and prosperity when they are able to feed their populations.
He recalled that before the discovery of crude oil, Nigeria’s economy was driven by agriculture, with the groundnut pyramids of the North, cocoa plantations in the West and palm produce from the East and the Niger Delta financing the country’s early schools, hospitals and public institutions.
According to the Vice President, the oil boom gradually shifted attention away from agriculture, leading Nigeria to depend increasingly on imported food despite possessing vast arable land and agricultural resources.
Shettima praised the Niger Delta for choosing to diversify beyond oil and embrace agriculture as a new engine of economic growth.
He said the region’s rich history in palm oil production long predates crude oil exploration and positions it to become a major contributor to Nigeria’s food production and export economy.
Officially inaugurating the fund, Shettima explained that the $500 million investment vehicle is designed to support commercial agriculture across the entire value chain, including aquaculture, palm oil, cassava, cocoa, rice, horticulture, marine resources and livestock production.
He disclosed that the initiative is backed by commitments from international development institutions, including the World Bank, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, alongside private and commercial investors.
To coordinate implementation, the Federal Government has established the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Council, which will be chaired by the Vice President, while the NDDC will serve as the council’s secretariat.
Shettima noted that the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency on food security in 2023, which prioritised increased agricultural production, market stabilisation and improved food access across Nigeria.
He highlighted several flagship agricultural programmes of the administration, including the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, which aims to deploy 10,000 tractors over five years, as well as the John Deere Tractorisation Programme, the Greener Hope Project and the Green Imperative Programme.
According to him, these interventions have already contributed to a significant reduction in the prices of several staple food commodities, with some declining by as much as 50 per cent.
The Vice President urged investors, development partners and state governors to treat the summit as the beginning of a long-term commitment to transforming agriculture in the Niger Delta.
Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, described agriculture as a central pillar of the Federal Government’s economic transformation agenda, noting that the Niger Delta possesses enormous potential for job creation, investment and sustainable development.
He called on development partners, the private sector and governments at all levels to strengthen collaboration in expanding agricultural opportunities across the region.
Chairman of Origin Group, Prince Samuel Joseph, commended the Federal Government and the NDDC for their renewed commitment to unlocking the economic potential of the Niger Delta through agriculture and other development initiatives.
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Managing Director of the NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, said the summit marked the beginning of a long-term partnership aimed at attracting investment, creating jobs and strengthening food security across the region.
He encouraged stakeholders to seize the opportunities created by the initiative and build lasting partnerships that would stimulate economic growth.
Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Chiedu Ebie, said the Niger Delta deserves a future built on productivity, enterprise and shared prosperity, stressing that young people, farmers and local communities require greater access to finance, technology, infrastructure and markets to maximise the region’s agricultural potential.
The launch of the $500 million Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund represents one of the Federal Government’s most significant efforts to leverage agriculture as a catalyst for economic diversification, food security and sustainable development in the oil-producing region.