Nigeria’s Vice President Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday launched the $500 million Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund (NDAIF), describing it as a major step towards transforming the Niger Delta into a thriving agricultural hub and reducing the nation’s dependence on oil.
Speaking at the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit on Wednesday in Abuja, Shettima said the fund is a commercial, returns-driven investment vehicle that will support the entire agricultural value chain, including aquaculture, palm oil, cassava, cocoa, rice, horticulture, marine resources and livestock across the nine Niger Delta states.
According to him, the initiative is backed by commitments from leading international development finance institutions, including the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, alongside private and commercial investors.
He explained that the fund would operate under the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Council, which he chairs, while the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) will serve as the secretariat.
The council, he said, will prepare bankable agricultural projects through feasibility assessments, financial modelling and market validation to attract investments into the region.
Shettima said the initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to food security, recalling that the administration declared a state of emergency on food security in July 2023 to tackle rising food prices and boost local production.
“It is no coincidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu placed food security among the earliest priorities of this administration because nations that lose control of their food eventually surrender control of their future,” he said.
The Vice President highlighted several agricultural interventions already being implemented by the federal government, including the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, which targets the deployment of 10,000 tractors over five years, local tractor assembly plants, the John Deere Tractorisation Programme, the Greener Hope Project and the Green Imperative Programme.
He added that the government has also strengthened agricultural value chains through investments in processing facilities, improved access to quality seedlings, fertilisers, irrigation and financing under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, while expanding agricultural corridors and establishing Livestock Development Centres to improve productivity and reduce conflicts between farmers and herders.
Shettima said the administration’s reforms were already yielding positive results, noting that the prices of several essential food commodities had declined significantly.
“Through the sustained dedication of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, we have seen the prices of several essential food commodities fall by as much as 50 per cent for some. This is the harvest of pragmatic reform and deliberate investment,” he stated.
He urged governors of the nine Niger Delta states, development partners and private investors to seize the opportunities provided by the new fund, stressing that agriculture remains the region’s next frontier for economic growth.
According to him, the initiative seeks to create “an architecture of trust between capital and the soil,” where government provides the enabling environment, financial institutions provide capital and the people drive enterprise.
Shettima expressed optimism that the programme would create jobs for young people, stimulate agro-industrial development, diversify the region’s economy and ensure sustainable prosperity.
In his welcome address, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said the Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Summit was aimed at driving practical investments that will transform the region’s economy and reduce its dependence on crude oil.
He thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for their support, noting that several landmark infrastructure projects across the region were evidence of the administration’s commitment to the Niger Delta.
Ogbuku highlighted the construction of a major bridge in the region, describing it as one of the longest outside the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge and the Second Niger Bridge, and expressed confidence that the project would be completed next month.
According to him, the project demonstrates that visionary leadership can transform ideas into reality, stressing that the NDDC remains committed to translating development plans into tangible projects that improve the lives of the people.
The Chairman of the Governing Board of NDDC, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, said the Niger Delta must be known not only for its oil and gas resources but also for its agricultural potential, stressing that the region has the capacity to become a major driver of Nigeria’s food security and economic growth.
Also speaking at the summit, the Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, described the gathering as a significant step towards accelerating sustainable development and economic recovery across the Niger Delta region.
