The Federal Government has said it is deploying subsidised agricultural inputs and policy interventions aimed at stabilising rising food prices and improving affordability across the country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this at a Ministerial Policy Dialogue during the Nigeria Public Relations Week held in Kaduna, themed “Nigeria’s Food Security: From Policy Paper to Public Plates; The Imperatives of Public Relations.”
Kyari, who was represented by the Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund, Mohammed Ibrahim, said the Tinubu administration was prioritising food inflation control, affordability and access through targeted reforms.
According to him, recent policy actions, including the reduction of import tariffs on key agricultural inputs and commodities, are beginning to reflect in market trends.
He said the government was balancing support for farmers with measures to ensure sustainability in food production through input support schemes and agro-processing interventions.
“We are providing subsidised inputs to processors through backward integration models. Strengthening both farm production and processing is key to ensuring agricultural policies deliver results,” he said.
Kyari added that beyond production, effective communication remained crucial to building public trust and ensuring policy impact in the agricultural sector.
On inflation trends, Ibrahim said food inflation had declined to about 14 per cent compared to 25 per cent recorded in the same period of 2025, though he noted that challenges such as high input costs persisted.
He said ongoing reforms, including improved access to mechanisation, targeted farmer support and input distribution, were expected to further ease pressure on food prices.
“These interventions are beginning to yield results, and we expect inflation to continue on a downward path,” he said.
Ibrahim also highlighted the role of the National Agricultural Development Fund in driving financing and implementation of key agricultural programmes nationwide.
He said the fund was supporting food production across crops, livestock, fisheries and agro-forestry, while also providing concessional financing to farmers and agribusinesses.
According to him, the agency is also investing in agricultural research, training, extension services and emergency response interventions for disease outbreaks and input shortages.
He added that thousands of farmers had already benefited from various programmes, including input support schemes and recovery initiatives across several states.
Ibrahim said over 5,000 farmers in Kaduna, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory benefited from the Ginger Recovery, Advancement and Transformation for Economic Empowerment initiative.
He also disclosed that about 50,000 smallholder farmers nationwide had received subsidised inputs under a farm support programme, while emergency assistance was provided to onion farmers affected by crises in some northern states.
Looking ahead, he said the fund was expanding its fertiliser support initiative to reach over 100,000 farmers across multiple states ahead of the 2026 farming season.
Ibrahim further noted that the agency had mobilised significant financing through partnerships with state governments and private sector actors to support agricultural value chains.
He said the interventions were designed to reduce borrowing costs, expand rural credit access and attract private investment into agriculture.
He added that the ultimate goal remained achieving food sovereignty and long-term food security in Nigeria through sustained investment and coordinated policy implementation.
Participants at the dialogue stressed the need for consistent policies, increased investment and effective communication to sustain gains in food production and stabilise prices.
