Like never before, the Netherlands appears resolute in its efforts at fostering a favourable investment climate, strengthening market access and building impactful partnership with Nigeria to provide creative solutions to food security and sustainability.

To the country, Nigeria offers both challenges and opportunities in the agriculture sector, especially the horticulture industry, with its array of young, innovative and resilient workforce considered as potentials for them to key into.

This is hinged on the fact that the Dutch expertise in sustainable agriculture, innovative seed technology, and resilient food system aligns with Nigeria’s ambition to enhance food security, improve productivity, and create economic opportunities, especially for you and women.

Their resilience to boost the agric sector, especially the future of Nigeria’s horticulture industry was further established at the just concluded 10th agrofood and plastprintpack Nigeria 2025, in Lagos, where they built on the successes of the past trade missions, sector studies, and investment dialogues, to explore the Nigerian market.

Their visit, also coincided with the third Netherlands-Nigeria Horticulture Trade Mission, targeted at strengthening ties with Nigerian stakeholders, explore collaboration opportunities, and contribute to the country’s growing horticulture sector.

The Consul General, Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lagos, Michel Deelenk, told The Guardian during the agrofood conference that his country is bringing to Nigeria agricultural technology that will translate to higher yields. “We all know that the problem in Nigeria is that farmers have a low yield. They buy seeds, they put them in the soil, and only half of them germinate. So what we have here are seeds, specifically for tomatoes, for bell peppers, for cucumbers, and other areas in horticulture.

“There are also a few companies who deal in potatoes or potato seeds. They focus a lot on Plateau State, because with the climatic condition there, the yields of those products are higher, the end result is better. The fruits are better, but also the number is increasing. And that brings me back to Mr. President’s statement on the declaration of a state of emergency on food security in Nigeria.

“What we are trying to bring here is the answer to that problem – that you have technology adapted to the Nigerian market whereby you improve your quality, you improve the yields, the outcome, the production of agricultural products. And you know, Nigeria, looking at this population and looking at the fertile soil, Nigeria could and should produce a lot more food than it does.

“Nigeria should be in a position also to export food. And we see now that the production is too low. So what we’re trying to do here is bring those technologies, the technical assistance, the partnerships together with Nigerian farmers to increase the production,” he said.

The mission leader for the Netherlands delegation, Ivo Meijer, from the Municipality of Westland, said their target is to assist Nigeria and her farmers with the mutual ambition to have more local food production, in the most sustainable way. He added that the companies, which came with the delegation had products, innovations, or solutions for farmers to have more sustainable food production in a more efficient way, and in the end, more return on advancement, especially from the horticulture aspect of it.

He said: “I came from Westland, and we are the capital of potatoes. We have a lot of potatoes, and we really believe in growing produce and foods in a controlled environment like in the greenhouse technology. This is because if you’re looking at the challenges in Nigeria, in the face of the growing population, especially in cities like Lagos, there’s a need for more local food production.

“But you also see climate challenge, like periods of drought and very warm weather or sometimes a lot of rain. And if you produce food in a controlled environment like a greenhouse, you can export; you can protect your crop in the most sustainable way. And also, for instance, all the water you use in a greenhouse goes directly to the plant and all waste water you can reuse. So, it’s much more efficient for all the resources to be protected for food production, like, in a controlled environment.”

On her part, the Agricultural Counsellor for Nigeria and Ghana, at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Inge Tenniglo, said the Netherlands is building up to momentum of the past partnerships in Nigeria. “You can see that every year we are growing, and we are focusing more. So, we are now focusing on horticulture, specifically on vegetables, greenhouse technology, innovation, potatoes, and others. With our knowledge, education, and innovation, we can really make a difference.

“It’s a growing process for us to really target, to match, to partner with Nigeria, where their needs is, and what we can offer to fill that gap. One of the best things to change the narrative is to invest in quality seeds. A lot of people talk about pesticides and fertilisers, but that only helps to bring us the genetic quality of what the seed is.

“So, this year, and over the years, we’ve had Dutch companies who are very good at seed breeding. About two to three years ago, a few of them came here to first understand our climate with a programme we called SGDP, then to see how those seeds will perform here in Nigeria’s climate and have now gone back to make it better.

“So, what we will do in the near future is to work with the Nigerian Agricultural Seed Council, to deepen the relationship that we already have through the collaborative seed programme and make sure that we increase access of quality seeds to Nigerian farmers, but then back it up with a lot of training, so that the farmers will know what to do with this.

She noted that only four per cent of Nigerian farmers have access to the seeds that fits their purposes – quality, improved seeds, “And we want to bring more Dutch companies, we want to bring more seeds to the farmers to choose what they want. If they want to use farmer-based seeds or improved seeds of high quality, we want to give them a choice. Now, they don’t have a choice. So that’s about vegetable seeds, but also and we’re just starting to do something in potatoes. So, we brought in for the first time five potato companies. They are ready to work with Nigerians.”

In one of the exhibition stands, a representative of Rijk Zwaan, a Dutch Vegetable Breeding Company, Edwin van der Klight, disclosed that they came with an approach to service the key areas of the country by supplying seeds and providing services to farmers.

“We are having high quality seeds, which we think is needed for the Nigerian markets, high quality material with the right pest or disease resistance. So that’s our job, and we are still trying to find improvement of varieties to use, so that the grower can have a good income.

“The country is big, and the growers need support. So we are investing a lot also in social media, e-learning to transfer knowledge and to showcase how to make the best practice of our varieties.”

The Manager, Team Africa of Delphy BV, a consulting company, with specialty in cultivation of crops and flowers, Peace Quadt, who said their watchword is to make ‘growers better, to be better farmers and better growers,’ said the Dutch sees opportunity in improving the knowledge base of both existing farmers in Nigeria and those who are still in school who want to enter into the sector to make them knowledgeable.

“And when they combine the knowledge with technology, then you can grow your crops, grow it in the most efficient way and in the most economic way, and make a life for yourself.”

Earlier in the week, the Dutch trade delegation, which had engagement with government agencies, agribusinesses, and industry leaders to exchange knowledge and explore potential partnerships, visited the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Oyo State, in conjunction with the second edition of Hortifare 2025, organised by Horti Nigeria.

The NIHORT’s Executive Director, Dr. Mohammed Lawal Attanda, represented by Dr. Sunday Akinyemi Oluseyi, emphasised the critical role of research in addressing Nigeria’s food security challenges. He highlighted digitisation as a fundamental driver of improved agricultural shelf life, urging farmers to adopt large-scale production.

The Agricultural Counsellor for Nigeria and Ghana, Tenniglo, underscored the significance of partnerships in improving Nigeria’s food security. She commended NIHORT’s research efforts, stating, “I am impressed by the level of research being conducted at the institute. This presents an excellent opportunity for partnerships and continued innovation.”

The trade mission lead, Meijer reaffirmed the shared goal of sustainable food production, saying, “We are all working towards the same objective—producing food sustainably and bringing it closer to market. Our delegation continues to drive innovation, and we see valuable opportunities for collaboration.”

The CEO of Green Republic, Baliquus Salaudeen-Ibrahim, emphasised the impact of improved technologies on large-scale farming. “Cooling storage systems will give farmers the confidence to expand production without the fear of post-harvest losses. If such facilities are available, farmers will be encouraged to scale up,” she noted.