The Federal Government has launched an ambitious five-year reform agenda aimed at transforming Nigeria’s cooperative sector into a major driver of food production, rural prosperity, and national economic growth under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The initiative, known as the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP) 2025–2030, is designed to reposition cooperative societies as strategic institutions for inclusive growth, agricultural productivity, job creation, and poverty reduction across the country.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sabi Abdullahi, disclosed this during the inauguration of the ministerial technical committee for the programme in Abuja.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Olaniyi Ogunbiyi, the minister described the programme as a direct response to the structural weaknesses affecting Nigeria’s cooperative and agricultural ecosystems.
He explained that the reform would strengthen institutions within the cooperative sector and improve their contribution to national development by enhancing food security, creating employment opportunities, improving rural livelihoods, and expanding economic participation.
According to him, the RH-CRRP is built on seven strategic pillars, including cooperative governance and institutional reforms, establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, sector digitalisation and data management systems, capacity building and cooperative education, as well as value chain development and market access.
Other pillars include youth, women and Persons with Disabilities inclusion, alongside strategic partnerships and investments aimed at improving Nigeria’s competitiveness within the global cooperative ecosystem.
Abdullahi noted that the programme is expected to improve access to funding, technology, and markets for cooperative societies while strengthening collaboration between government agencies, private sector operators, development organisations, and civil society groups.
He further charged members of the technical committee to drive the implementation process in alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s agricultural transformation agenda and the administration’s projection of building a one-trillion-dollar economy within the decade.
The minister explained that the committee would coordinate policy implementation across ministries, support Farmer Producer Cooperative Organisations and Comparative Cooperative Farms through access to farm inputs, aggregation systems, and extension services, while also facilitating food systems development and the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
Director of the Federal Department of Cooperative, Mohammed Abdulkadir, said the initiative emerged from resolutions reached during the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs, themed “Revitalizing Nigeria’s Cooperative Sector.”
He stated that the reform framework would serve as Nigeria’s official blueprint for cooperative transformation, economic revitalisation, and digital integration between 2025 and 2030.
Meanwhile, Ogunbiyi also highlighted the strategic importance of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Programme, describing it as a key instrument for agricultural industrialisation and sustainable economic development.
According to him, the SAPZ initiative is expected to reduce post-harvest losses, improve productivity, attract private sector investments, generate employment for youths and women, strengthen food security, and stimulate inclusive economic growth across participating states.
He explained that the programme would establish integrated agro-industrial hubs equipped with critical infrastructure such as roads, electricity, water supply systems, storage facilities, logistics networks, and processing centres situated close to major farming clusters.
Ogunbiyi added that the initiative would help shift Nigeria from exporting raw agricultural commodities to a more value-driven agro-industrial economy focused on processing, industrialisation, and market competitiveness.
He described the programme as one of the Federal Government’s most strategic agricultural transformation initiatives, jointly financed by the Federal Government, the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Islamic Development Bank in collaboration with participating state governments and private sector stakeholders.
Speaking further, National Programme Coordinator of SAPZ, Kabir Yusuf, said the initiative was designed to attract private investment into agro-processing and unlock opportunities in food security, export earnings, rural development, and employment generation.
He added that the programme’s core objective is to support inclusive and sustainable agro-industrial development capable of diversifying Nigeria’s economy through agriculture while reducing the country’s food import dependence.
