The hot sun beats down on Nigeria’s farmlands, drying up the once fertile soil. Dust sweeps across fields that used to be full of life. Maize plants are broken, cassava tubers are rotting under the intense heat, and rice paddies are dried up, with no water left to help the crops grow.
From Niger to Kogi, Keffi to Abuja, this sad picture repeats itself across the country, showing just how much Nigeria’s farming is struggling
This World Food Day 2025, while the globe celebrates “Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future”, smallholder farmers in Nigeria are gripped by despair.
They watch their livelihoods erode under the twin pressures of climate shocks and systemic failures. They labour, invest, and hope only to find that the system seems rigged against them.
“If things continue like this, many farmers might abandon the business entirely,” says Muazu Ishaq, a cassava farmer in Keffi. “All the rain, the labour, the fertiliser, everything we put in has gone.”
“I Lost Everything”: A Farmer’s Gambit
For Patience Koku, a commercial farmer straddling Abuja and Niger State, this year’s harvest was not only a financial disaster but a personal heartbreak.
Her maize, soybeans, and rice failed to thrive under erratic rainfall and pest invasions.
“I lost all my money,” Koku recalls, her voice quivering. “Every naira I made in other businesses that I invested in farming, I lost it all. Farming in Nigeria is not for the faint-hearted.”
She describes 41 days without rain, followed by a single day of downpour, and then silence again. The armyworm invasion years earlier had foreshadowed this season’s tragedy.
But the largest threat, she says, comes not from nature alone; it is the relentless flood of imported staples that crushes local markets.
“We cannot compete when the government imports what we produce. How can I sell my maize when rice and corn from abroad are cheaper than my own?”
READ ALSO: World Food Day: Experts Raise the Alarm over Persisting Food Crisis in Nigeria
Koku’s plight echoes the nation’s broader economic crisis. On August 19, 2025, at the FirstBank Agric and Export Expo in Lagos, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, revealed a staggering truth: Nigeria spends over $10 billion annually on agro-imports: wheat, rice, sugar, fish, and tomato paste.
“We sit on 85 million hectares of arable land, with a youth population of over 70 per cent under 30, yet Nigeria accounts for less than 0.5 per cent of global exports,” Kyari said. “Agriculture contributes 35 per cent of GDP and employs 35 per cent of our workforce, but we earn less than $400 million from agro exports. To build a non-oil export economy, we must rethink how we finance agriculture.”
The minister, represented by his special adviser Ibrahim Alkali, called for urgent investment in local agro-industries, echoing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s food sovereignty agenda.
Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State, a farmer-turned-politician, urged financial institutions like FirstBank to partner with the government in providing accessible loans for farmers.
“We have the land, the youth, and the will,” he said. “What we need is funding and infrastructure to unlock Nigeria’s full agricultural potential.”
Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu warned that overdependence on oil and imported staples leaves the economy vulnerable to global shocks.
“Nigeria must urgently broaden its economic base,” he said. “Productivity, value addition, and competitiveness in non-oil exports are non-negotiable for national survival.”
Kogi’s Broken Fields
In Koton Karfe, Kogi State, rice farmer Adamu Ahmed paints a grim picture. Last year, a bag of local rice sold for ₦55,000–₦60,000. Today, the same bag barely fetches ₦15,000.
“Some buyers even reject it. Women take rice to the market and return home empty-handed. Farmers have fallen into debt because what we invested, we couldn’t recover even a quarter,” Ahmed says.
High input costs of ₦60,000 for fertiliser and spiking diesel prices make the situation worse. Imported staples, he says, undermine local production and erode the dignity of farming.
“We are dying slowly,” he laments.
The GMO Debate: Fear, Science, and Opportunity
Amid this despair, the debate over genetically modified crops (GMOs) has resurfaced. Some farmers and scientists argue that biotechnology could be the key to Nigeria’s food sovereignty.
Abdul Adnan, a maize farmer in Suleja, blames misinformation and foreign influence for Nigeria’s resistance to GM crops.
“If I were earning billions from exporting food to Nigeria, I’d ensure we never produce enough,” Adnan says. “They flood social media with lies about GMOs, yet their own countries use them to feed the world.”
According to the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB), Nigeria Chapter, the term “GMO” is misleading.
“Genetic modification is literally the essential feature of all life on earth,” OFAB notes. “Every organism, including humans, is genetically modified by nature. The distinction between GMO and non-GMO is scientifically indefensible.”
Precision breeding, used in modern biotechnology, introduces one or two known genes into a crop, compared with conventional breeding that mixes hundreds of genes unpredictably. After 25 years of global research, the European Union concluded that GMOs are no riskier than traditional breeding methods.
READ ALSO: High Food Prices Undermining FG’s Reforms – World Bank
Dr Rose Suniso Maxwell Gidado, Director of Agricultural Biotechnology at NABDA, speaking to Pinnacle Daily, emphasised that biotechnology is not an experiment; it is a lifeline.
“Most of our seeds are unimproved. That’s why Nigerian farmers get only 1–1.5 tonnes per hectare, compared to 8–10 tonnes elsewhere. We spend billions importing food we could grow at home.”
Biotech crops can be drought-tolerant, pest-resistant, and enriched with nutrients like vitamin A, iron, and zinc, reducing the need for chemical sprays.
“With biotech crops, farmers spray insecticides twice instead of fifteen times. It’s safer for the farmer, the consumer, and the environment,” Dr Gidado says.
According to the World Bank, GM crops reduce losses from pests and disease, increasing productivity and lowering food costs – a critical pathway to reducing poverty and hunger.
From smallholder farmers to government officials and scientists, one truth emerges: Nigeria’s food system is under siege by climate, by imports, and by misinformation.
The country’s survival hinges on innovation, investment, and political will. Without urgent action, farms will continue to fail, rural economies will collapse, and Nigeria will remain dependent on imports for basic staples.
“This year broke us,” Koku says quietly. “But we will keep planting because if we stop, who will feed Nigeria?”
Essential Facts & Figures
| Indicator | Data / Detail | Insight |
|---|---|---|
| Annual food import bill | $10 billion | Nigeria spends billions on wheat, rice, sugar, fish, tomato paste — funds that could support local farmers |
| Agro-export earnings | <$400 million per year | Despite abundant arable land, Nigeria earns a fraction of potential revenue from exports |
| Agriculture’s contribution to GDP | 35% | Significant economic sector, yet underperforming in global trade |
| Agriculture employment | 35% of workforce | Millions rely on farming for livelihood; farmers are at risk of abandoning the land |
| Arable land | 85 million hectares | Vast potential for self-sufficiency and export growth |
| Youth population in agriculture | 70% under age 30 | Youth presence is strong, but lack of support limits productivity |
| Drought period | Up to 41 days without rain (Niger/Abuja) | Climate shocks devastate yields and food security |
| Local rice price (Kogi) | ₦15,000 per bag (down from ₦55,000 in 2024) | Collapse of local prices discourages production |
| Fertilizer cost | ₦60,000–₦80,000 per bag | High input costs limit profitability |
| Average maize yield (Nigeria) | 1–1.5 tons per hectare | Far below global standards; productivity gap is huge |
| Average maize yield (global benchmark) | 8–10 tons per hectare | Illustrates inefficiency in current local practices |
| Biotech/GMO approach | Precision breeding: 1–2 known genes; conventional breeding: hundreds of random genes | GM crops are safer, more controlled, and more predictable than conventional methods |
| GM crop benefits | Reduced crop loss from pests/disease; fewer pesticide applications; higher yields; lower food prices | Potential lifeline for Nigeria’s food security |
| Key government stance | Food sovereignty is a national priority; there is a need for increased financing of agriculture | Led by Minister Abubakar Kyari and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu |
| Key quotes | 1. “Nigeria spends $10 billion a year importing food we can grow.” — Abubakar Kyari 2. “We are not just talking about food security — we’re talking about survival.” — Dr Rose Gidado 3. “If this continues, local farmers will abandon the land.” — Muazu Ishaq, Keffi | Voices from officials, experts, and farmers highlight urgency |
| World Food Day 2025 theme | “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future” | Global context underscores the urgency of action |
Esther Ososanya is an investigative journalist with Pinnacle Daily, reporting across health, business, environment, metro, Fct and crime. Known for her bold, empathetic storytelling, she uncovers hidden truths, challenges broken systems, and gives voice to overlooked Nigerians. Her work drives national conversations and demands accountability one powerful story at a time.
