Shettima Unveils Nigeria’s New Food Security Strategy at Davos

Nigeria has launched a broad national strategy that elevates food security as a core pillar of economic stability, inflation management and national cohesion, with Vice President Kashim Shettima stressing that the issue is no longer treated as a purely agricultural concern.

Shettima made the remarks while speaking at a high-level panel titled “When Food Becomes Security” at the Congress Centre during the 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, the Federal Government is pursuing a multi-sectoral approach aimed at protecting Nigeria from global economic shocks and reviving productivity in key food-producing regions.

“In Nigeria, we don’t look at food security purely as an agricultural issue. It is a macroeconomic, security, and governance issue. Our focus is to use food security as a pillar for national security, regional cohesion, and stability,” Shettima said.

He explained that the strategy is anchored on three main pillars: boosting food production, ensuring environmental sustainability, and strengthening regional integration within West Africa.

The Vice President said global disruptions and fragile supply chains have forced Nigeria to redesign its food systems to reflect the country’s ecological diversity.

“Nigeria is a very large country, and there is an incestuous relationship between economy and ecology. In the Sahelian North, we are dealing with desertification, deforestation, and drought. In the riverine South and parts of the North Central, flooding is our major challenge,” he said.

READ ALSO: WEF 2026: Shettima Inaugurates Nigeria House at Davos

To address these challenges, Shettima noted that the government is promoting climate-resilient crops, including drought-resistant, flood-tolerant and early-maturing varieties of staples such as rice, sorghum and millet. He added that food systems in flood-prone southern areas are also being redesigned to withstand extreme weather conditions.

Security remains a major obstacle to food production, he said, as several of Nigeria’s agricultural hubs are located in conflict-affected regions.

“Most of the food baskets of our nation are security-challenged. That is why we are creating food security corridors and strengthening community-based security engagements so farmers can return safely to their land,” he said.

Shettima also announced the launch of the Back to the Farm Initiative, a programme designed to resettle displaced farmers by providing them with agricultural inputs, insurance and access to finance.

On economic pressures, the Vice President identified heavy reliance on imports and foreign exchange instability as major contributors to rising food prices.

“We largely import wheat, sugar, and dairy products, and this has a direct impact on inflation. Our strategy is to accelerate local production and promote substitutes such as sorghum, millet, and cassava flour to correct these structural imbalances,” he said.

He concluded that Nigeria’s new approach positions agriculture as a frontline tool for tackling economic and security challenges, adding that the country, described as “the African giant”, has “woken up from its slumber” under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and would, within 12 months, make “it possible for smallholders and fishers to become investable at scale.”