The United States government said it has invested nearly $200 million in Nigeria’s agricultural sector in the last five years, with food security as the overriding motive.
The US government further disclosed that it allocated $150 million as grants to 33 Nigerian private sector companies.
Acting US Ambassador to Nigeria, David Greene, who disclosed this in Abuja at the 2024-2029 Global Food Security Strategy launch, also announced that the government was investing $22 million in Nigeria’s cocoa value chain, covering seven states.
The application of the Global Food Security Strategy for Nigeria over the next five years is poised to amplify agricultural productivity and catalyse economic development driven by the agricultural sector.
Greene pointed out that despite external support, Nigerians are the most capable of addressing their own challenges.
“The U.S. government is providing broad assistance across Nigeria to support agriculture development. As Melissa mentioned, USAID invested almost $200 million in agriculture for the last five years to improve food security and build household resilience to shocks in Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger, and Yobe states.
“We also provided modest grants to 33 private-sector companies to leverage over $150 million in private-sector development, generated $306 million in domestic sales, and created over 23,000 jobs.
“USAID is one of many U.S. government agencies promoting agricultural development in Nigeria. For example, this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture inaugurated a $22 million, five-year investment in Nigeria’s cocoa value chain, spanning seven states.
“The investment improves rural livelihoods by building capacity in cocoa productivity, trade capacity, and traceability,” he said.
Greene further stated that there are ongoing exchange programmes and fellowships between the United States and Nigeria, which are intended to benefit Nigerians educationally.
He cited the example of one Agada Blessing, a doctoral candidate in soil science at Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University in Benue State, who received support from USAID to pursue research on climate change and fertilizer use at Michigan State University.
“In the last two years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has also sponsored more than a dozen scientific exchange fellows to study at U.S. agricultural universities and 30 private sector stakeholders to visit the United States, all so they can come back to improve Nigeria’s crop production, animal breeding, efficient pesticide use, and trade capacity.
“Food must be available to buy, and prices must be affordable for all Nigerians. The Nigerian government should embrace the adoption of genetically modified crops to boost the productivity and income of smallholder farmers while removing trade restrictions, including food and agricultural import bans. Competition and free trade foster creativity and efficiency,” Greene added.
