Stakeholders blame insecurity, weak policies for deepening food crisis in Nigeria

Key players in Nigeria’s agriculture sector have attributed the country’s worsening food crisis to insecurity, poor policy implementation and inadequate infrastructure.

The concerns were raised during the 2026 Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Agriculture and Agro-Allied Summit in Lagos, where stakeholders warned that attacks on farmers, weak oversight of intervention funds and ineffective execution of agricultural policies are undermining food production.

Dr. Mrs. Moji Davids, Group Managing Director of Xtralarge Farms & Resorts, said insecurity has continued to discourage farmers from returning to their farms, thereby reducing productivity across the sector.

She revealed that some farmers in Benue State who were kidnapped and made to pay ransoms of more than N50 million each have since abandoned farming activities.

“What farmers need today is confidence and assurance on security, access to finance, stable pricing, infrastructure and fertilizer distribution,” Davids stated.

She further explained that while government agricultural policies may appear commendable, implementation remains weak. She also identified post-harvest losses as one of the major causes of rising food prices.

Consultant on Agriculture to the Ogun State Governor and Managing Director of Bama Farms Limited, Prince Wale Oyekoya, also said insecurity has become a major barrier to food production.

According to him, repeated attacks and kidnappings in troubled farming communities have forced many farmers to stay away from their farms.

“When farmers go to the farm and their lives are not secured, there will be discouragement and that leads to shortage of food production,” he said.

Speaking further at the summit, Mr. Utomi Ezinwa, Manager of Agribusiness and Non-Oil Export at Union Bank, blamed politics and lack of accountability for the failure of intervention programmes in the agricultural sector.

“We should remove politics from policies. Nigeria is not void of systems. The problem is that we have systems that are not working,” Ezinwa said.

He stressed the need for patient and long-term investment in agriculture, while calling for stronger cooperation between government agencies, development finance institutions and commercial banks.

Meanwhile, Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainability Lead at Nestlé Nigeria, urged stakeholders to embrace sustainable farming practices.

She cautioned against harmful environmental practices and indiscriminate fertilizer application, emphasizing the importance of sustainability in agricultural production.

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