Nigeria: Shettima launches Niger Delta Agricultural Fund to drive food security, investment
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Nigeria
Vice President Kashim Shettima has launched the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Fund and inaugurated a Coordinating Council to drive agricultural growth in the region.
Shettima announced the initiative on Wednesday at the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The summit was jointly organized by the Office of the Vice President and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, with support from governors of the nine Niger Delta states. It was themed: “Unlocking Investment for Sustainable Agricultural Transformation in the Niger Delta.”
Shettima said the fund is directly tied to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agrarian program under the Renewed Hope Agenda. The goal, he said, is to mobilize government, investors, development partners, and the private sector to turn the Niger Delta’s agricultural potential into real economic gains.
“Before oil took centre stage in our economy, it was the soil that paid our bills. We must, therefore, return to agriculture for our economic development,” he said.
He noted that while the region is known globally for oil and gas, it is also endowed with vast arable land, freshwater resources, and access to both domestic and export markets.
Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, urged investors to look beyond oil and see the Niger Delta as key to Nigeria’s food security.
“The future of agriculture is in mechanised and innovative farming, and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu has placed agriculture at the heart of Nigeria’s economic development,” he said.
NDDC Governing Board Chairman, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, said the commission remains aligned with federal agricultural policies. He stressed that the administration’s eight presidential priorities — including food security, poverty eradication, job creation, and anti-corruption — will guide development in the region.
NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to changing the narrative in the oil-producing region.
“The Niger Delta has for decades been known for oil, but it is time to unlock the enormous opportunities beneath its fertile soil. Agriculture offers the region a pathway to food security, employment, investment and lasting prosperity,” he said.
Ogbuku added that infrastructure will be critical to success. He announced that the NDDC will soon complete the 1.2-kilometre Kaa-Ataba Bridge linking Khana and Andoni Local Government Areas in Rivers State to improve market access
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, represented by Permanent Secretary Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, said the Tinubu administration is prioritizing a shift from subsistence to mechanized agriculture.
Keynote speaker Prince S.J. Samuel, speaking on “Niger Delta: Awakening an Agricultural Giant,” also called for mechanized farming and private sector participation.
NDDC Director of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Winifred Madume, said the region has all the fundamentals investors look for: fertile land, diverse ecological zones, extensive coastline and inland waterways, and proximity to major markets.
“The Niger Delta possesses the natural and economic fundamentals that investors seek,” she said. “This initiative is not only about increasing food production but also about building an agricultural economy capable of rewarding investment, driving industrial growth and positioning the Niger Delta as one of Nigeria’s leading agribusiness destinations.”
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, represented by Deputy Governor Senator Akon Eyakenyi, commended the NDDC and the Vice President’s office for the summit and pledged the state’s commitment to reviving agriculture.
NDDC Executive Director, Projects, Dr. Victor Antai, said strong partnerships will be needed to sustain the investment plan and deliver results on the ground.
The launch of the fund and coordinating council signals a push to diversify the Niger Delta economy, create jobs, and reduce dependence on oil by leveraging agriculture as a new growth engine for the region.
