By Gloria Ikibah
The Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has urged farmers, policymakers and industry players to work together to confront Nigeria’s growing food security concerns and unlock the full potential of the agriculture sector.
He made the call on Thursday in Abuja while addressing the Annual General Meeting of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, where he stressed that progress in agriculture depends on cooperation rather than isolated efforts. 
Kalu described agriculture as a cornerstone of the nation’s future, noting that it should be treated as a strategic priority rather than a peripheral activity. According to him, every job created within the sector supports a household and provides meaningful employment for young people, making it critical to national stability and economic growth.
He encouraged farmers to strengthen their organisations, adopt modern technology and focus on improving productivity in order to compete effectively and meet domestic food demands. At the same time, he called on government at all levels to engage more closely with agricultural leaders through structured dialogue and to develop clear, sector-wide roadmaps that can guide long-term development.
The Deputy Speaker emphasised that only a coordinated approach involving farmers, government and other stakeholders would deliver lasting solutions to Nigeria’s agricultural and food security challenges.
He said: “To AFAN leadership: Establish a formal dialogue with the government on priority constraints. Develop sector-wide roadmaps for major commodities (maize, rice, poultry, horticulture). Create working groups on infrastructure, finance, technology, and markets. Be the architect of Nigeria’s agricultural future, not merely its commentator.
“To state governments: Allocate at least 5% of your budget to agricultural infrastructure. Implement the market mapping frameworks we have pioneered. Use data to target investments. Hold yourselves accountable for agricultural output and job creation in your states.
“To the private sector: Take risks. Invest in processing, in logistics, in market systems. Work with smallholders as partners, not vendors. Build the ecosystems that will make Nigeria a regional agricultural powerhouse.
“To farmers: Organize. Embrace technology. Increase your productivity. You are not asking for charity; you are building wealth and feeding a nation. Demand the infrastructure and services you deserve.
“To all stakeholders: Remember this: agriculture is not marginal to Nigeria’s future. It is central. Every job created in agriculture is a household fed and a young person kept in the country rather than pushed toward cities or external migration. Every productivity gain in farming is stability in the polity.
“We have the resources. We have the policy environment. We have the partnerships. What we lack is unified will.
“Let us demonstrate that will here, today, and carry it back to our constituencies, our businesses, our farms, and our communities.
“The future of food security in Nigeria rests not with government alone, but with the collective action of this association and the millions of Nigerians who till the soil, trade the harvest, and feed the nation”.
