Nigeria’s stubborn food inflation, even amid signs of easing headline inflation, is being driven by deep-rooted structural weaknesses in the agricultural sector, according to Adetunji Oredipe.
Speaking on a current affairs programme in Ogun State, Oredipe shifted the narrative away from policy deficiencies, arguing instead that Nigeria’s challenge lies in execution failures, weak institutional coordination, and chronic underfunding.
He noted that while successive administrations have developed comprehensive agricultural frameworks targeting food security, foreign exchange earnings, and job creation, implementation gaps have prevented these policies from delivering expected outcomes.
Referencing past initiatives such as Operation Feed the Nation and the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), Oredipe said the issue has been less about design and more about sustainability. The ATA, implemented under former Minister of Agriculture Akinwunmi Adesina, was highlighted as a major innovation that successfully reached millions of farmers through its e-wallet input distribution system, but struggled to maintain scale due to inconsistent funding and political will.
He also acknowledged interventions like the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme backed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, but stressed that structural inefficiencies—particularly poor farmer organisation—continue to undermine productivity and limit market access.
According to Oredipe, the absence of strong aggregation systems makes it difficult for investors and off-takers to engage efficiently with farmers, creating bottlenecks across the value chain. He advocated for coordinated clustering of farmers to enhance productivity, reduce logistics costs, and improve overall sector performance.
On security, Oredipe warned that the crisis affecting agriculture has evolved beyond traditional farmer-herder conflicts into a broader threat landscape dominated by kidnapping and criminality, significantly disrupting rural livelihoods and food production.
At the subnational level, he commended Ogun State’s investments in mechanisation, citing tractor service centres around Ijebu Ode as practical interventions that help reduce production costs and improve efficiency.
Oredipe also linked Nigeria’s food challenges to external shocks such as the Russia-Ukraine War, noting that global supply chain disruptions have amplified domestic pressures on food systems.
On solutions, he endorsed a supply-side approach to stabilising food prices, aligning with the position of Bola Tinubu that increasing production remains the most sustainable path to price control. He cautioned against excessive reliance on price regulation without addressing underlying supply constraints.
Highlighting fiscal concerns, Oredipe pointed out that Nigeria’s agricultural budget allocation remains significantly below the recommended 10 percent benchmark, hovering between four and five percent due to competing national priorities such as security.
He further defended ongoing livestock reforms, including structured settlement models, as necessary steps toward improving productivity, reducing conflict, and enhancing food security outcomes.
Looking ahead, Oredipe emphasised the need to modernise agriculture through technology and innovation to attract younger participants, arguing that the sector must evolve into a more efficient, value-driven system.
Ultimately, he maintained that Nigeria’s agricultural crisis is not a failure of ideas but a failure of sustained execution—calling for stronger political commitment, consistent funding, and better institutional alignment to unlock the sector’s full potential.