Food security: FG offers 40 tertiary institutions N2bn each

The Federal Government has announced plans to provide up to “N2bn in financing to each of 40 tertiary institutions” to establish commercial farms, as part of efforts to boost food production, create employment and reduce dependence on government funding by universities and other higher institutions.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during a meeting with heads of the selected institutions and the management of the Bank of Agriculture to discuss the implementation of the Renewed Hope Tertiary Agricultural and Entrepreneurship Programme.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the minister, Ikharo Attah, “The programme is designed to mobilise more than 500,000 hectares of underutilised land across tertiary institutions for commercial agricultural production, research and enterprise development.”

Alausa said participating universities, polytechnics and colleges of education would be expected to provide approximately 1,000 hectares each, although institutions with smaller landholdings could also qualify based on the viability of their business proposals.

Under the arrangement, each participating institution would establish a limited liability company to partner with the Bank of Agriculture, “which would provide between N1bn and N2bn in financing for agricultural production and related inputs.

“The minister explained that the initiative was aimed at addressing the longstanding underutilisation of agricultural land in tertiary institutions by providing access to financing, machinery, technical expertise and institutional support.”

He said the Federal Government had also made provisions for the initiative through previous interventions by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, which approved N1bn for some institutions and N2bn for others.

Additionally, Alausa disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education had provided N20bn in its capital budget to support 20 tertiary institutions under the agricultural development initiative.

On mechanisation, he said participating institutions would have access to 10 tractors each at significantly reduced costs through the government’s agricultural mechanisation initiative.

The support package would also include modern seedlings, farm implements, irrigation equipment, water pumps, fertilisers and technical expertise to improve productivity.

To guarantee markets for the expected harvests, the minister said arrangements would be made with produce aggregators to purchase crops, while measures would be introduced to minimise post-harvest losses.

He added that the programme would extend beyond primary agricultural production to processing and other agro-allied businesses, creating a sustainable value chain around participating institutions.

Alausa said students, unemployed graduates, alumni, academic and non-academic staff, as well as members of host communities, would be encouraged to participate in the commercial farming activities under the supervision of lecturers and agricultural experts.

He noted that the initiative would provide students with practical agricultural experience, promote entrepreneurship and enable participants to benefit from the economic returns generated by the farms.

The minister projected that the programme could attract investments running into trillions of naira in the coming years, while repositioning tertiary institutions as centres of agricultural innovation, commercial production and enterprise development.

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The development comes amid persistent food security challenges in Nigeria, with the Food and Agriculture Organisation estimating that 36.3 million people faced acute food insecurity during the June-August 2026 lean season.

In its September 2026 country brief, the FAO also reported that Nigeria’s annual food inflation rose for the sixth consecutive month to 20.3 per cent in July, compared with 8.9 per cent in January.

The organisation attributed the pressure on food production and prices partly to rising agricultural input and transportation costs, as well as insecurity disrupting farming activities in several food-producing states.

It also identified conflict-related restrictions on access to farmland, high fertiliser prices and adverse weather conditions as factors threatening agricultural output.

The FAO’s assessment underscores the importance of expanding domestic food production and investing in mechanisation, irrigation and agricultural value chains to strengthen food availability and affordability.

Nigeria’s agricultural sector also faces structural challenges, including limited access to modern farming equipment, inadequate financing, weak processing capacity and post-harvest losses.

The Federal Government has in recent months intensified efforts to address some of these constraints through agricultural mechanisation policies and investments aimed at expanding tractor access and improving farming productivity.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof Adamu Ahmed, welcomed the initiative, describing it as an opportunity to harness the institution’s agricultural research and production capacity.

He cited the university’s Institute of Agricultural Research, National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services and Faculty of Agriculture as existing structures that could support the programme.

Ahmed said the partnership would provide the financing and technical assistance required to translate research into commercial production, strengthen agricultural capacity and create opportunities for students.

Similarly, the Rector of Federal Polytechnic Oko, Dr Chioma Awuzie, commended President Bola Tinubu and the education minister, saying the programme would enable the institution to maximise its available land through mechanised farming.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Agriculture, Ayo Sotinrin, said the bank would provide financing and market linkages to help participating institutions commercialise agricultural research and improve productivity.

He added that the initiative would enable tertiary institutions to contribute to food supply beyond their immediate communities while generating revenue from agricultural investments.

Alausa assured all that the ministry would work with the Bank of Agriculture, relevant government agencies and participating institutions to ensure effective implementation of the programme.