FG inaugurates farmers’ coalition as agriculture grows

Sector records 4.39% growth in Q2

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA — The Federal Government has inaugurated the Coalition of Farmers Associations for Food Security in Nigeria, COA-FARMERS, as the agriculture sector recorded 4.39 per cent growth in the second quarter of 2026.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, who inaugurated the coalition on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja on Monday, described the sector’s performance as its strongest since 2021.

Kyari attributed the growth largely to farmers’ response to the administration’s declaration of a state of emergency on food security.

He said the coalition should serve as more than an umbrella body for farmers’ groups by helping government identify challenges facing producers, improve the flow of information from farmers and assess the impact of agricultural programmes.

“A country cannot secure its food future if the people who produce its food are heard only after decisions have been made,” the minister said.

Kyari said the renaming of the ministry as the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security reflected the administration’s focus on translating agricultural policies into increased food production and availability.

He also highlighted the importance of women farmers, calling for greater opportunities for them to participate in decision-making, production, processing, aggregation and marketing.

“Food security will not be secured by speaking for women farmers. It will be strengthened by ensuring that women farmers have the space, the tools and the opportunity to organise, invest, produce and grow,” he said.

The minister urged COA-FARMERS to provide honest feedback on government programmes and identify areas requiring improvement.

He said the government expected the ministry to deliver better access to inputs, increased production and productivity, improved markets and more secure livelihoods.

Kyari also said Nigeria’s election in February to chair the Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, underscored the importance of giving farmers a stronger voice in agricultural policy.

He said, “When Nigeria speaks in that forum, it must speak with the authority of its own farmers, and this coalition will help give that voice its substance.”

The minister disclosed that President Tinubu had appointed him Director of the Presidential Campaign Council for Agro-Allied Commodities Mobilisation, while the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, would serve as Deputy Director.

Abdullahi, in his remarks, acknowledged the coalition’s support for Tinubu’s re-election bid and urged members to highlight what they described as the administration’s achievements in agriculture and other sectors.

“They should work towards that goal collectively by going back to the people, showcasing the achievement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in agriculture and the other sectors of the economy,” he said.

National President of COA-FARMERS, Chief Emmanuel Anoh, commended farmers across grains, roots and tubers, livestock, fisheries, horticulture, cash crops and agro-allied services for their contributions to the economy.

Anoh said the coalition comprised 99 farmer associations and commodity organisations representing producers, aggregators, processors and marketers across the agricultural value chain.

He commended government interventions, including fertiliser distribution, tractor mechanisation, the National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro-Pocket and Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones.

However, he called for a direct-to-farm model for distributing agricultural interventions and quarterly stakeholder meetings with the ministry.

Anoh also requested the minister’s support for a formal presentation of the coalition to President Tinubu.

The event concluded with the formal inauguration of COA-FARMERS as an umbrella platform bringing together commodity associations, farmers, agribusiness organisations, registered farmers’ associations and cooperative societies across Nigeria.

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