As the world grapples with climate change and environmental degradation, experts are increasingly pushing for sustainable agricultural practices that prioritise soil health, biodiversity and efficient water use.
The experts who made the call at the bi-annual Nigeria Sustainable Agriculture Conference (NSAC) held recently in Lagos stressed the need for sustainable food production in Africa’s most populous country.
Babatunde Olarewaju, lead strategist at FutuX Agri-consult Limited, said that despite the country’s agricultural potential, Nigeria spends billions of naira annually on food importation, highlighting the significant gap between domestic food production and consumption capacity.
According to him, the gap in production capacity is not an economic challenge but a human issue that needs to be addressed.
He said that smallholder farmers who are the custodians of lands and the backbone of the country’s food systems bear the brunt of ecological shocks, noting that their resilience, which was passed down through generations, is being stretched to its limit.
“But in this challenge lies our greatest opportunity. Imagine a Nigeria where our farms are not merely for producing food, but vibrant ecosystems, contributing to biodiversity, clean water, and healthy soil,” he said.
“Imagine a future where our food systems are not just secure, but naturally regenerative, a legacy we would proudly pass to the next generation,” he further said.
“This future is within our grasp, and it demands the collective ingenuity and unwavering commitment of every one of us gathered here,” he noted.
“We must continue to embrace innovation. From precision agriculture to responsible input use, ensuring our farming methods and practices align with nature and not against it,” he added.
Olarewaju called for the alignment of government policies with current realities faced by smallholder farmers. “For too long, policy has sometimes lagged behind the urgent ecological realities our farmers face daily.”
“We need to build a resilient and enabling policy environment that actively promotes ecological stewardship for sustained food production.”
Juliet Adekoya, CEO and country representative, AFOS Foundation Nigeria, said that the need for a resilient and inclusive food system has never been more urgent for the country than now.
Adekoya, who was represented by Moses Olatunji, project coordinator, AFOS Foundation Nigeria, defined a sustainable food system as a system that delivers food and nutrition security without compromising the environmental, social and economic foundations.
According to her, sustainable food systems are not built by change, but are shaped by the deliberate and coordinated actions of key actors in the food systems.
She added that collaboration is essential to achieving food security, economic equity and environmental sustainability.
She urged farmers to embrace improved technology and methods that reduces post-harvest losses and encourage preservation and packaging of agricultural practices.
“Practices that reduce greenhouse emissions and promote carbon sequestration, such as the use of organic inputs and renewable energy sources like solar-powered irrigation, are essential to be adopted by our food producers.”
On his part, Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture, who was represented by Iwara Edet, a director at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), commended the group for its intervention in the agriculture space.
Kyari disclosed that the review of Nigerian agricultural laws are being revised as he asked participants to share their contributions to the Ministry’s correspondence.
“Food producers must be supported with the knowledge, tools and technologies to implement sustainable farming practices.”
“For collaboration and partnerships, we must work together; food producers, agri-investors, policy makers, and other stakeholders must drive sustainable agriculture forward by sharing knowledge, resources, and expertise.”
“The ministry is in the process of reviewing all agricultural laws in the country, so I want to call on the participants of this conference today, that if there is any area you know or things that should be reviewed, they should write to us.”
