Nigeria ranks third in West Africa for Agricultural performance review

The Federal Government has announced that Nigeria ranks as the third best-performing country in West Africa in the latest Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Biennial Review (BR).

Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed, Deputy Director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), shared this information during a National Dialogue on the fourth CAADP BR report held in Abuja, organized by ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) and FMAFS.

In his presentation titled “CAADP 4th BR,” Mohammed reported that Nigeria achieved a score of 6.28% against the benchmark of 9.29% for national budget allocations to agriculture in the 2023 review cycle.

He noted that no country met the benchmark, and highlighted that while Nigeria is not on track to meet the seven Malabo commitments by 2025, the review has shown progress in seven out of 27 performance categories related to these commitments, including enhancing agricultural investment and reducing hunger.

Mohammed urged the government to increase the agricultural budget to reach the recommended 10% of the total national budget.

Dr. Ibrahim Tanimu, Director of Planning and Policy Coordination at FMAFS, explained that the meeting aimed to identify data gaps and inform policy briefs to improve agricultural performance.

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Tanimu emphasized that Nigeria has been committed to CAADP since 2010, participating actively in biennial reviews that have shown significant improvement in agricultural transformation.

He acknowledged AAN’s ongoing collaboration in implementing the National Agricultural Gender Policy.

Mr. Azubike Nwokoye, AAN’s Food and Agriculture Programme Manager, underscored the importance of the CAADP BR as a mechanism for accountability among African Union member states in achieving the Malabo Declaration’s goals for agricultural transformation from 2015 to 2025.

He stressed the dialogue’s role in assessing progress, identifying gaps, and formulating recommendations to enhance food and nutrition security in Nigeria.