Business
Oil slump: Nigeria targets self-sufficiency in food production
LAGOS-There has been a renewed emphasis on local food production in recent times owing to the continued slip in oil prices globally and t
he resultant devaluation of the local currency.
All over the country, there has been a return to the agricultural sector which hitherto lay dormant while Nigeria savoured oil wealth. But with the oil almost trickling to a stop, the country has suddenly been roused to its former source of wealth; agriculture and food production.
A major foreign exchange earner in the 1960s and 1970s, the sector has featured in various development plans spanning 52 years, starting from the 1962-1968 development plan which was Nigeria’s first national plan and culminating in recent efforts of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
According to an economic analyst, Professor Sherifdeen Tella, the sudden drop in the price of crude oil was what Nigeria needed to jolt it back to the reality of the importance of agriculture. Tella had urged total dedication to the sector, saying that the government and people of Nigeria should not see the situation as a temporary one.
In the same vein, Bismark Rewane was optimistic that if there was commitment on the part of people and the government, it was possible for Nigeria to be self-reliant and comfortably support the economy with earnings from the non-oil sector.
Since June 2014 when the price of crude oil started falling from its peak of $115 per barrel, and continued its downward spiral, analysts have not ceased to call on the government and stakeholders to urgently consider diversifying the economy.
In a swift response to the situation, the Federal Government has, since last year, embarked on far-reaching agricultural programmes meant to boost local food production.
In October, the government approved the Nigeria Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme which was proposed a year earlier.
Details of the plan published on the African Development Bank online portal, included a two-phased programme that consisted of an initial phase of three years to put in place, the delivery and institutional mechanisms through a learning by doing and piloting approach.
Other reforms have since followed the ATA in quick succession as the global oil benchmark keeps edging towards the $40 mark. From all indications, agriculture has become a central focus of the economy being the major foreign exchange earner apart from oil.
The Minister of Agriculture, Dr.Akinwumi Adesina, believes that things have been moving so fast in the sector that come 2017, the country will achieve self-sufficiency in food production.
Adesina said the success recorded in the cassava sub-sector was a strong indication that Nigeria was on its way to food self-sufficiency. He noted that the country had done extremely well in food production, adding that food import bill went down from 1.1trn in 2009 to N697bn by the end of December, 2013.
He told our correspondent, “Today, Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world. The goal of the government is to make Nigeria the largest processor of cassava in the world. We are doing that in four ways; first, we are working to transform cassava into starch that can be used by industries.
“An American company which is the largest food processor in the world will be investing about $200bn in Alape, Kogi state for the establishment of 64,000 metric ton-starch plant and a 43,000 metric ton-sweetener plant. These two plants will transform cassava into starch and sweetener to replace the sugar that we are currently importing.”
The minister also said that the government was working with Coca Cola, Nigeria Breweries, Unilever as well as Flour Mills of Nigeria, to begin production of high quality cassava syrup that will be coming from the Alape plant.
Adesina also expressed support for the new rice policy of the Federal Government, describing it as another project that was sure to liberate the country from dependency on food importation. He was also optimistic that with the volume of rice being produced locally every year, the country would be able to export the commodity in three years.
The only problem with the policies, as laudable as they are, is that they are coming too late according to analysts, considering the fact that the general elections are in February and some of the policies have not been given legal backing to protect them from alteration or discontinuation by another government.
Last year, the Trade Commissioner and Managing Director, Japan External Trade Organisation, George Sato, told our correspondent that Nigeria had put in place good policies that had been attracting foreign investors to the nation.
He said, “All that the Japanese companies want is stability and consistency. After the 2015 elections, the current good policies should remain and continue. If there is sustainability and consistency, we will bring more Japanese businesses here.
According to the President, Rice Millers Association of Nigeria, Tunji Owoeye, if anything should happen to stop the rice policy, it would spell doom for Nigeria as a nation. Owoeye said stakeholders across the rice value chain had already made long-term investments and signed performance bonds running into billions of naira in the sector.
He told our correspondent in an interview, “If these projects and policies are not continued, it is going to spell disaster for Nigeria,”
Owoeye remarked that the only way to ensure continuity of the policies was to pass a legislation in the chambers to make it a national law. He added that another way of ensuring continuity would have been for the current administration to continue beyond February 2015.
An analyst and the Country Director, Harvest Plus, Mr. Paul Ilona, echoed Owoeye’s concerns. Ilona was of the opinion that with the current energy and dedication given to food production, the country was certain to be self-sufficient very soon.
According to him, the challenge will be in sustaining the current growth.
Another problem that has been providing a conduit for illegal importation is that local food production is still far from meeting the demand of Nigerians.
PUNCH-
The NNPC Foundation Limited/Gte, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), has won the CSR Champion Award (Health) 2025 instituted by the Independent Newspapers.
Biztellers reports that the award was presented during the Silver Jubilee edition of the Independent Newspapers Awards, themed “Game Changers: Breaking Barriers and Shaping Tomorrow,” held at Eko Hotel and Suites on Saturday, 18 April 2026.
The CSR Champion Award (Health) recognises the Foundation’s work in healthcare and its broader commitment to improving lives through social investment programmes spanning health, education, environment, and access to energy.Primary & Secondary Schooling (K-12)
The recognition follows a series of health initiatives delivered by the Foundation, including free cataract screening and surgeries that restored sight to over 6,000 Nigerians, including minors born blind; cancer and glaucoma interventions; medical outreaches to underserved communities; renovation and furnishing of three wards with 100 beds at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi; partnership and sponsorship of heart surgeries; and provision of dental health accessories to children in special schools, among others.
The NNPC Foundation noted that these results were made possible through the leadership and support of the NNPC Ltd. Management team, whose commitment has continued to strengthen the Foundation’s capacity to deliver social investments across the country.
Reacting to the award, the Managing Director of NNPC Foundation, Emmanuella Arukwe, described the recognition as a validation of the Foundation’s work and the trust placed in it by Nigerians. She noted that the award means so much to the company because it represents the confidence Nigerians have placed in its work and the value they see in purposeful social investment.
“It speaks to the resilience of the communities we serve, the dedication of our team, and the strength of partnerships that have enabled us to do meaningful work in health, education, environmental sustainability and access to energy,” she added.
In addition, Arukwe noted that “these results have also been made possible through the leadership and support of the NNPC Ltd. Management team, whose backing has been instrumental to the success of the Foundation’s work. We receive this award with gratitude, and with a renewed sense of responsibility to do more and reach further across the country.”
The NNPC Foundation Limited/Gte remains committed to advancing health interventions that improve outcomes and contribute to national development.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), through its Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) Division, in collaboration with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sonatrach, the Algerian National Oil Company, for cooperation in research, development, and innovation.
The agreement, signed by NNPC Ltd’s Executive Vice President, Business Services, Sophia Mbakwe, and Sonatrach’s Managing Director, Khodjah Mohamed, establishes a formal framework for joint work in research and technology exchange between the two national oil companies.
This was contained in the press statement issued on Thursday by Chief Corporate Communications Officer Mr. Andy Odeh.
According to the statement, the agreement, held during the opening ceremony of the 3rd Meeting of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) Forum for R&D Directors at the PTDF Tower in Abuja, Nigeria, brought together research and development directors from APPO member countries.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, represented by former Secretary General of APPO, Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said the forum was one of four measures introduced by APPO to address challenges from the global energy transition, which center on funding, technology, and markets.
“The R&D forum tackles technology and expertise needs, the African Energy Bank addresses funding constraints, and the Central African Pipeline System supports regional oil and gas market integration,” Lokpobiri stated.
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Earlier in his remarks, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, represented by the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, said research and development must form a central part of the overall strategy in the African oil and gas industry.
He called for research and development centres to function as engines of industrial competitiveness. “Collaboration in research and development is of strategic importance. The cost of innovation might be high, but the cost of obsolescence would be greater,” he stressed.
Ojulari called for a unified strategic framework through which resources could be pooled, data integrated, and risks shared across member countries.
He further urged the rapid adoption of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and advanced engineering to improve upstream, midstream, and downstream operations.
On his part, the APPO Secretary General, Farid Ghezali, urged African petroleum-producing countries to ensure research in the oil and gas sector produced solutions that are practical and directly relevant to the continent. “We must ensure that our research delivers solutions that are practical and of direct use to Africa,” he stated.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Prof. Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, highlighted the value of the partnership between NNPC Limited and PTDF in supporting decarbonization and environmental protection efforts across APPO member countries.
Chief Innovation Officer of NNPC Research, Technology and Innovation and incoming Chairman of the APPO R&D Directors Forum, Rasheed Ojulari, said the forum would give immediate priority to joint programs in the core areas of upstream optimization, artificial intelligence, decarbonisation processes, and industrial systems development.
The Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), has opined that a predictable fiscal and regulatory environment are ingredients essential to de-risking investments and accelerating project delivery in the oil and gas sector.
This was detailed in a statement released by NGA at the end of its maiden Legal Forum emphasised that investor confidence will be shaped by the robustness of commercial and contractual structures across the gas value chain, strengthened contractual clarity, and efficient dispute resolution mechanisms.
In his opening address, President of the NGA, Aka Nwokedi, underscored the urgency of aligning Nigeria’s legal architecture with its strategic gas ambitions, noting that the sector’s next phase of growth will be defined by the strength, clarity, and credibility of its regulatory environment.
“Nigeria’s gas resources present a defining opportunity for economic transformation, but realising this potential will depend on building a legal framework that is transparent, predictable, and globally competitive”, he stated.
Discussions throughout the Forum reflected a clear and consistent theme: that Nigeria’s opportunity now lies in execution.
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While the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has established a transformative foundation for sector reform, participants emphasised that its true impact will be determined by disciplined implementation, regulatory coherence, and institutional alignment.
The need to eliminate ambiguity and strengthen enforcement emerged as central to unlocking sustained investment.
As global energy systems continue to evolve, the Forum reinforced natural gas as Nigeria’s most strategic lever for balancing economic growth, energy security, and emissions reduction. Participants highlighted that legal and regulatory frameworks must evolve accordingly, moving beyond policy intent to embed clear, enforceable standards on carbon management, ESG obligations, and sustainability.
“In an increasingly competitive global market, such clarity will be critical in attracting long-term capital.”
The Forum also acknowledged the policy direction of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in advancing gas development through infrastructure expansion and increased domestic utilisation.
Stakeholders noted that sustained policy stability will serve as a critical signal to both domestic and international investors evaluating long-term opportunities in Nigeria’s gas sector.
Beyond its technical depth, the NGA Legal Forum marked an important step in bridging the longstanding gap between legal frameworks and industry realities, creating a structured platform for continuous engagement, practical alignment, and forward-looking policy development.
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