As Nigeria marks its 65th Independence Anniversary, the President of the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG), Arc. Kabir Ibrahim, has said the country is poised to become Africa’s food basket if it re-engineers its food system and fully commits to the Kampala Declaration 2026–2035.
Ibrahim, who is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria (NAFN), said Nigeria’s youthful population, coupled with the opportunities in agribusiness driven by AgriTech, fintech, IT, and artificial intelligence, positions the nation to dominate the African agribusiness ecosystem under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He stressed that liberalizing access to quality farm inputs—such as fertilizers, improved seeds, pesticides, and machinery—while reducing post-harvest losses, would significantly boost productivity and make agribusiness attractive to Nigerian youth.
According to him, addressing access to credit through a carefully evolved Small Business Administration (SBA) model would further unlock sustainable economic growth, job creation, and wealth distribution.
Highlighting lessons from the Netherlands’ agribusiness success despite limited arable land, Ibrahim said Nigeria’s abundant cultivable land, water resources, and mineral wealth give it a comparative advantage. He urged the government and private sector to align with the Kampala Declaration, which seeks to triple intra-African agrifood trade, raise output by 45 percent, and mobilize $100 billion in investment across the continent’s food systems.
“The immense opportunities in the Kampala Declaration portend economic growth for the entire African continent, and Nigeria can carve a niche by leveraging its large youthful population and diverse resources,” Ibrahim said.
He congratulated Nigerians on 65 years of independence and called for transparency, innovation, and collective effort to build a prosperous nation.
