Nigeria has unveiled an ambitious 10-year youth-led agricultural renewal plan aimed at transforming its food systems and boosting food security. The announcement was made by Vice President Kashim Shettima during the UN Food Systems Summit +4 Stocktake (UNFSS+4) held in Addis Ababa from July 27–29.
The 2026–2035 Strategic Action Plan will drive large-scale investment in agribusiness innovation, mechanisation, and processing, with a focus on empowering young people and women. Nigeria said the initiative aligns with the African Union’s CAADP “Kampala Declaration”, which seeks to accelerate agricultural transformation across the continent.
Key elements of the plan include:
₦1.5 trillion recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture to support a Youth Agricultural Revolution, with loans of up to ₦1 million for young farmers and cooperatives.
Expansion of the Youth in Agribusiness programme, in partnership with the Netherlands, CGIAR, and IITA, targeting 10,000 youth, at least 40% women, in horticulture, aquaculture, cassava processing, and poultry value chains.
A mechanisation drive, beginning with 2,000 tractors and a plan to deploy 10,000 tractors over five years in collaboration with global manufacturer John Deere.
Growth of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ), which already have $538 million committed in phase one with AfDB, IFAD, and IsDB. The government says SAPZ projects could attract $1 billion in investments by 2027, reduce post-harvest losses by 80%, and create nearly 800,000 jobs.
Vice President Shettima described the initiative as a “youth-driven revolution” that will anchor Nigeria’s food security, job creation, and industrialisation agenda.
The announcement came as world leaders gathered at UNFSS+4 to assess progress since the 2021 Food Systems Summit. The Addis Ababa gathering, co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy, pushed countries to demonstrate concrete actions to transform global food systems.
Nigeria’s government is expected to release the full Strategic Action Plan and its monitoring framework in the coming weeks, outlining state-level rollouts and funding mechanisms.