The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has called for strategic investments in staple crops, emphasizing that targeted funding in tomato, cassava, and maize could boost productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, enhance food security, and deliver strong returns for investors.
Senator Kyari made the remarks during his presentation at the Hand-in-Hand (HiH) Investment Forum held at Abuja Continental Hotel, highlighting the vast potential of these crops as both profitable and socially impactful ventures.
He noted that the tomato value chain, with an estimated investment of $869 million across 72,000 hectares in Kano, Bauchi, and Borno, could directly benefit 36,000 farmers while halving post-harvest losses and raising yields to 30 tonnes per hectare. The initiative is projected to deliver an internal rate of return of 12.5% and a net present value of $171 million.
For cassava, a $382 million investment is planned across 207,000 hectares in Ogun, Oyo, and Anambra, aiming to support 45,000 farmers, establish 375 processing units, and reduce dependence on imported starch and high-quality flour. The investment offers an IRR of 15.2% and NPV of $187.7 million.
Maize, with the largest allocation of $1 billion over 1 million hectares in Katsina, Kaduna, and Oyo, targets bridging a 5 million metric tonne production gap. The programme will directly benefit over 420,000 farmers and indirectly impact nearly 3 million people, with an IRR of 18.7% and NPV of $75.6 million. Key interventions include input hubs, new processing facilities for animal feed, and support for breeder seed development and quality control.
Senator Kyari underscored that the initiatives are regionally significant, scalable, and capable of creating employment opportunities. He highlighted plans to establish seed multiplication centers, clean energy-powered processing plants, and mobile processing units for rural areas. Additionally, farmer clusters and cooperatives will receive support, while access to quality inputs and financing will be expanded.
The Minister emphasized that these interventions are not only about profitability but also strengthening food security, industrial growth, and positioning Nigeria as a regional hub for agricultural production and trade under ECOWAS and the AfCFTA.
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