A new report has revealed that bottlenecks, delayed input delivery, and financial constraints hindered the full impact of the African Development Bank's (AfDB) $134 million National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) wheat intervention across participating states in Nigeria.
Key Findings of the Report
The study, commissioned by ActionAid Nigeria and conducted by TSD Consult, found that although the NAGS-AP Wheat Intervention Programme expanded wheat cultivation and improved access to farm inputs during the 2023–2025 dry-season farming cycles, delays in federal approvals and logistical challenges led to the late delivery of inputs across beneficiary states.
Presenting the report's findings to journalists in Abuja, the Team Lead of TSD Consult, Mr Tunde Salman, stated that delays in the delivery of fertilisers and other inputs adversely affected wheat production under the programme. According to him, late land preparation resulted in portions of the wheat crop being excluded from the production cycle entirely, thereby suppressing the program's potential output.
Ghost Farmers and Financial Constraints
The findings further revealed how ghost farmers and political appointees infiltrated the beneficiary lists, crowding out legitimate smallholders. Additionally, farmers were unable to afford the 50 per cent counterpart fund requirements, forcing many to sell their input allocations to agro dealers.
Although farmers reported that the imported heat-tolerant varieties performed well compared to local strains, with yields increasing from an average of 13 bags to 20 bags per hectare, the continued importation exposed the absence of a robust domestic seed multiplication system.
Call for Sustainable Solutions
The Deputy Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Suwaiba Muhammad-Dankabo, said the programme was designed to reduce Nigeria's heavy dependence on wheat imports, which currently account for about 90 per cent of the country's wheat requirements. She emphasised that sustainable wheat production expansion would require stronger institutions, improved seed systems, increased investment in irrigation infrastructure, and better integration of agricultural extension services.
Presenting policy recommendations, Mohammed-Dakwambo urged the NAGS-AP project management to enforce strict timelines for seed delivery before the end of October each year, improve access to redemption centres, and publish verified beneficiary lists at the ward level to enhance transparency.
Other recommendations include strengthening federal and state ownership of the programme, deploying real-time public dashboards for project tracking, improving ICT infrastructure during redemption exercises, and investigating allegations of input diversion, adulterated agrochemicals, fertilisers, and uncertified seeds.
Muhammad-Dankabo urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the NAGS-AP Secretariat, the AfDB, and other stakeholders to act on the report's recommendations, stating that Nigerian wheat farmers, particularly women smallholders, deserve transparent, accountable, and result-oriented programmes capable of improving productivity and livelihoods.
