The Federal Government says Nigeria recorded an additional 2.54 million metric tonnes of food production, valued at about ₦2.3 trillion, within two years of implementing the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, disclosed this on Wednesday in Nasarawa State at a two-day NAGS-AP stakeholders’ review and preparatory workshop on the modified implementation framework.
The workshop was organised by the NAGS-AP Project Secretariat in collaboration with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA).
According to the minister, the increased output was recorded across six priority crops, including rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, and cassava.

Abdullahi said the rise in food production has contributed significantly to improved food availability, the stabilisation of food prices, and the recent decline in food costs across the country.
He, however, acknowledged the challenge of high agricultural input costs, assuring that efforts were ongoing to balance input and output costs to sustain farmers’ productivity.
The minister explained that the project is part of the Food Security Emergency Support Programme, designed to bridge food supply and demand gaps and guarantee national food and nutrition security.

He further disclosed that the NAGS-AP Project, beyond implementing one of the AfDB-funded Policy-Based Operations (PBO) projects, is making arrangements to commence the implementation of a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded project, alongside the rollout of National Agricultural Growth Scheme (NAGS 2.0).
According to him, the JICA loan project will focus on rice, maize, soybean, and cassava production, while NAGS 2.0 will target wheat and rice, beginning from the 2026 wet season.
The minister added that under the 2025/2026 dry season farming programme, the project will prioritise rice, maize, and cassava production across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, said the stakeholders’ workshop was convened to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the project, examine the proposed implementation framework, and ensure proper alignment.
He explained that the objective was to create strong institutional pillars to support effective collaboration between the NAGS-AP Project Secretariat and the Bank of Agriculture, with a view to achieving sustainable impact.
Ogunbiyi disclosed that an integrated ICT-driven flow chart has been developed under the new framework to strengthen linkages between the project, BOA, and other stakeholders.

He said the system would be reviewed and validated by participants to ensure its workability.
Also speaking, the Project Coordinator, Isiaku Ado Bubba, said beyond providing farmers with critical inputs for priority crop production, the project has delivered institutional support to enhance performance and sustainability, particularly in staple food production.
He added that the initiative also involves the deployment of agricultural extension agents to offer advisory services, as well as fertiliser and seed quality control officers to ensure farmers receive guaranteed-quality inputs for maximum productivity and impact.