Vice President Kashim Shettima unveiled the $500 million Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund on Wednesday in Abuja, marking a significant step toward agricultural transformation in the region. The fund was launched during the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit, jointly convened by the Office of the Vice President and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Agriculture as a Foundation for Stability
Shettima described the fund as a laudable development for a nation built on an agrarian economy, noting that Nigeria's soil paid its bills before the discovery of oil. He stressed that Nigeria cannot afford to take the promise of an agricultural boom for granted. The vice president observed that while nations survive on many resources, they endure because they can feed themselves. Agriculture, he said, is not only the foundation of civilization 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 stated. He recalled that “the groundnut pyramids of the North, the cocoa estates of the West, and the palm produce of the East and the Delta financed our earliest schools and hospitals and underwrote the young institutions of a new republic.”
Regret After the Oil Boom
Shettima expressed regret that the oil boom brought an ease that “dulled the industry of the cutlass,” teaching the country to import what its own soil could grow instead of feeding itself. He applauded the Niger Delta region for the Agriculture Investment Fund Initiative, noting that the vision is inspiring because it arises from a region that could have relied on its oil wealth.
“The Niger Delta has instead chosen to return to an identity older than crude itself, for the palm oil of these creeks fuelled the commerce of continents long before the first barrel was drilled. It has chosen to transform this region, feed the nation, and attract the world. This is where philosophy must give way to action,” Shettima said.
Structure and Support of the Fund
Shettima explained that the fund is a commercial, returns-driven vehicle spanning the value chain, including aquaculture, palm oil, cassava, cocoa, rice, horticulture, marine resources, and livestock. He highlighted that commitments have been pledged by the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and private and commercial financiers.
“Above both stands the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Council, which I am honoured to chair, with the NDDC as its Secretariat. Beneath it lies a demand-side strategy preparing bankable projects across all nine mandate states,” Shettima added.
Alignment with National Food Security Goals
Shettima noted that President Bola Tinubu placed food security among the earliest priorities of his administration upon assuming office in 2023. The idea was driven by the understanding that “nations that lose control of their food eventually surrender control of their future.” He recalled the July 2023 declaration of a state of emergency, which shifted the national approach from the boardroom to the ground across production, market stabilisation, and food access.
“This is why mechanisation has been the centrepiece of the drive, and why the administration launched the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme for 10,000 tractors over five years, alongside local assembly plants. And in parallel with the John Deere Tractorisation Programme, the Greener Hope Project, and the Green Imperative Programme,” Shettima stated.
Call to Action for Investors and Stakeholders
Shettima implored investors, development partners, and state governors to treat the summit “as the start of an obligation rather than the end of a ceremony.” He emphasised that “the fund is launched, the commitments are aligned, the council is constituted, and the pipeline awaits your conviction.”
Earlier, the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, said the current administration places agriculture at the heart of Nigeria’s economic transformation. “The national regional development policy recognises the potential of every region, not just in transforming livelihoods but in attracting investments and growth. Hence, the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment summit is particularly significant in transforming the fortunes of youths and women across the Niger Delta,” Momoh stated.
Momoh urged the private sector and other stakeholders to collaborate closely with governments at all levels to achieve the objectives outlined for the transformation of all regions. He noted that the government alone would not be able to achieve the full transformation of Nigeria’s economy.
