VP Shettima Launches $500m Niger Delta Agricultural Fund to Boost Food Security, Investment

Vice President Kashim Shettima has launched the $500 million Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund, describing it as a major step towards unlocking the region’s agricultural potential and strengthening Nigeria’s food security.

Shettima launched the fund on Wednesday in Abuja at the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit, jointly organised by the Office of the Vice President and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The Vice President said the initiative reflects the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to reposition agriculture as a key driver of economic growth, employment creation and national stability.

According to him, Nigeria cannot afford to neglect agriculture because nations that lose control of their food supply risk losing control of their future.

“Agriculture is not only the foundation of civilisation but also the first guarantee of political stability. Before a people raise cities, they must learn to feed them, and before a state earns the loyalty of its citizens, it must secure their daily bread,” Shettima said.

He recalled that Nigeria’s agricultural resources, including the groundnut pyramids of the North, cocoa estates of the West and palm produce of the East and Niger Delta, once financed schools, hospitals and public institutions before the discovery of oil.

The Vice President noted that the oil boom shifted national attention away from agriculture, leading Nigeria from a country that produced enough food for itself to one that increasingly relied on imports.

However, he commended the Niger Delta region for choosing to revive its agricultural heritage rather than depend solely on oil resources.

“What makes this vision inspiring is that it arises from a region that could have rested on its oil wealth and left feeding the nation to other hands. The Niger Delta has instead chosen to return to an identity older than crude itself,” he said.

Shettima explained that the $500 million fund would operate as a commercial, returns-driven investment vehicle covering key agricultural value chains, including aquaculture, palm oil, cassava, cocoa, rice, horticulture, marine resources and livestock.

He said the fund would coordinate commitments from development partners, including the World Bank, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as private and commercial investors.

The Vice President disclosed that the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Council, which he chairs, would oversee the initiative, with the NDDC serving as its secretariat.

He linked the initiative to President Tinubu’s broader food security agenda, recalling that the administration declared a state of emergency on food security in July 2023.

According to him, the government’s agricultural reforms have focused on increasing production, improving market access and expanding mechanisation through programmes such as the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, the John Deere Tractorisation Programme, the Greener Hope Project and the Green Imperative Programme.

Shettima said the efforts, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security under Senator Abubakar Kyari, have contributed to reductions in the prices of some essential food commodities.

He urged investors, development partners and state governments to see the summit as the beginning of sustained collaboration rather than a one-off event.

Earlier, Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, said agriculture remains central to the Federal Government’s economic transformation agenda because of its potential to create jobs and improve livelihoods.

He said the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit would help transform opportunities for youths and women in the region while attracting investment.

Momoh urged the private sector and development partners to collaborate with governments at all levels, stressing that government alone cannot achieve the full transformation of Nigeria’s economy.

In his keynote address, Chairman of Origin Group, Prince Samuel Joseph, commended the Tinubu administration for strengthening the NDDC and advancing programmes aimed at unlocking the economic potential of the Niger Delta.

The Managing Director of the NDDC described the summit as the beginning of a long-term partnership to harness the agricultural opportunities in the region.

He urged stakeholders to use the platform to build partnerships, attract investments, create jobs and improve food security.

The Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Chiedu Ebie, said the Niger Delta must move beyond being a region of untapped potential, adding that farmers need access to finance, technology, infrastructure and markets to achieve sustainable development.