Davos: Nigeria reframes food security as macro-stability strategy

• says ‘Back to the Farm’ initiative will tame inflation, cut FX on imports

Nigeria has unveiled a sweeping macro-strategy that places food security at the heart of national stability, inflation control, and regional cohesion, with Vice President Kashim Shettima declaring that the country no longer views the issue through a narrow agricultural lens.

Speaking at a high-level panel, “When Food Becomes Security,” at the Congress Centre during the 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Vice President Shettima said the Federal Government has begun a multi-dimensional agricultural drive, designed to insulate Nigeria from global shocks while restoring productivity across its food-basket regions.
According to a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications Office of the Vice President Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said, “In Nigeria, we don’t look at food security purely as an agricultural issue. It is a macroeconomic, security, and governance issue. Our focus is to use food security as a pillar for national security, regional cohesion, and stability.”

He explained that Nigeria’s food security strategy rests on three pillars: increased food production, environmental sustainability, and deeper regional integration within West Africa.

According to him, changing global trends and supply-chain disruptions have compelled the country to rebuild resilient food systems tailored to diverse ecological zones.

“Nigeria is a very large country, and there is an incestuous relationship between economy and ecology. In the Sahelian North, we are dealing with desertification, deforestation, and drought. In the riverine South and parts of the North Central, flooding is our major challenge,” he noted.

To confront these realities, the Vice President said the government is promoting drought-resistant, flood-tolerant and early-maturing varieties of staples such as rice, sorghum and millet, while redesigning food systems in flood-prone southern regions to withstand climate shocks.

Security, he added, remains a binding constraint because many conflict-affected areas double as major food-producing zones.

“Most of the food baskets of our nation are security-challenged. That is why we are creating food security corridors and strengthening community-based security engagements so farmers can return safely to their land,” he said.

Shettima disclosed the launch of the Back to the Farm Initiative, aimed at resettling displaced farmers with inputs, insurance, and access to capital to restart production.

On macroeconomic vulnerabilities, he identified import dependence and foreign-exchange volatility as key drivers of food inflation.

“We largely import wheat, sugar, and dairy products, and this has a direct impact on inflation. Our strategy is to accelerate local production and promote substitutes such as sorghum, millet, and cassava flour to correct these structural imbalances,” he said.
Positioning agriculture as a frontline response to economic and security threats, the Vice President said Nigeria’s approach aligns food security with national stability, inflation control, and regional cooperation.

He further stated that the country, dubbed “the African giant”, has “woken up from its slumber” under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and that within 12 months the government would make “it possible for smallholders and fishers to become investable at scale.”

Highlighting continental dynamics, Shettima said intra-African trade has “almost become a necessity,” adding that “there have been some alignments.”

He urged African leaders to intensify cooperation under the African Continental Free Trade Area, expressing optimism that ongoing Renewed Hope Agenda reforms would soon translate into climate adaptation moving from pilot to reality, and a boom in intra-African trade far beyond 10.7 per cent.