Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) to accelerate the delivery of the Federal Government’s N250 billion credit support to smallholder farmers.
The call came during the sixth steering committee meeting of the PFSCU, on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where stakeholders reviewed progress on key agricultural reforms and ongoing interventions.
PFSCU Coordinator, Ms. Marion Moon, revealed that despite ongoing efforts, 30.8 million Nigerians remain food insecure, underscoring the urgency of fast-tracking support for farmers.
She noted that the unit has recorded milestones since its last meeting in April, including the insurance of 250,000 farmers under the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism, the launch of the Harvesting Hope Caravan across eight states, the approval of a N50 billion Presidential Seed Fund, and progress on the World Bank–supported $500 million AGROW programme.
The initiative drew commendations from state governors present, with Ekiti’s Governor Biodun Oyebanji stressing the need for clear structures to guarantee that the credit facility reaches farmers, and pledging financial assistance to the PFSCU from his state. Jigawa’s Governor Umar Namadi and Cross River’s Governor Bassey Otu both pressed for subsidies and incentives to strengthen support for local farmers.
Vice President Shettima, while commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership on reforms such as fertiliser raw material liberalisation and the seed fund, said the government’s priority remains ensuring that the N250 billion credit facility translates into tangible productivity gains.
“When federal ministries, agencies, the private sector, and development partners align, we can move swiftly from intent to delivery,” he remarked, calling for stronger collaboration to revitalise the seed sector and expand the nation’s strategic grain reserve.
The meeting underscored that Nigeria’s food systems reform is not just a federal responsibility but a shared effort requiring alignment across tiers of government, the private sector, and farmers to sustain progress.
