…as stakeholders call for effective implementation strategy

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – FOLLOWING the quest to boost food production, Nigeria has resolved to prioritise shaping a 10-year food systems plan with the convening of a National Stakeholders’ Consultation Workshop on the Strategic Action Plan for implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration (2026–2035).

This was made known by the Lead, Strategic Development Communication at Keselash Agricom, Keselash Nigeria Limited, Feyikemi Adurogbangba.

According to Adurogbangba, the high-level consultation, convened by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with development partners including the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), brought together stakeholders from government, development agencies, civil society, farmer organisations, the private sector, academia, and the media.

Declaring the workshop open, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Olaniyi Ogunbiyi, described the consultation as a critical step in translating the CAADP Kampala Declaration from a continental commitment into a nationally owned framework capable of responding to Nigeria’s realities, priorities, and development aspirations.

He emphasised the importance of inclusive participation in shaping a strategic action plan that reflects the needs of stakeholders across the food system and supports sustainable agricultural transformation.

The consultation forms part of Nigeria’s efforts to domesticate the CAADP Kampala Declaration into a ten-year strategic framework that will guide agricultural development between 2026 and 2035. The plan is expected to shape investments, strengthen food security systems, improve resilience, and accelerate rural transformation across the country.

In his welcome remarks, the Country Programme Leader, IFPRI Nigeria, Dr Oliver Kirui, reflected on the CAADP journey since its launch in 2003 and its role in shaping agricultural development efforts across Africa.

Kirui also noted that the success of the next phase would depend on broad stakeholder participation and an evidence-driven process that draws on the experiences of farmers, youth, policymakers, researchers, development partners, and private-sector actors.

According to him, the consultation provides an opportunity to ensure that Nigeria’s strategic action plan is grounded in local realities while remaining aligned with regional and continental commitments.

Meanwhile, speaking on the importance of successfully developing and implementing the Strategic Action Plan, Country Director of AGRA, Rufus Idris, emphasised the need to involve a broad range of actors across the food system in the consultation process, noting that inclusive participation would be critical to the plan’s success.

Also, in a remark, Dr Isaac Mensah of IFAD expressed pride in IFAD’s role as one of the convening and technical partners of the consultation, noting that the Strategic Action Plan presents a significant opportunity to drive transformative change across Nigeria’s food system and strengthen long-term food security and agricultural development, particularly for smallholder farmers, women, and youth.

Throughout the consultation, stakeholders discussed priorities, opportunities, and constraints that could influence the successful implementation of the CAADP agenda in Nigeria, including financing, investment, food systems resilience, coordination, inclusion, and implementation mechanisms featured prominently across discussions.

While communication was not discussed as a standalone agenda item, themes relating to stakeholder engagement, information flow, awareness creation, policy translation, coordination, and feedback systems surfaced repeatedly throughout the workshop.

Taken together, many of these discussions pointed to a broader question on how can agricultural policies, programmes, and investments be communicated more effectively to the actors responsible for implementing them?

As the Co-founder, Centre for Women’s Policy and Agricultural Innovation (CWPAI), Abiola Afolayan, Esq., observed during the consultation and said, “Nigeria has no shortage of well-designed policies and programmes, but often struggles with translating these frameworks into widespread understanding that meets the needs of women and other vulnerable groups.”

Afolayan’s observation echoed a concern that emerged in different forms throughout the workshop— that implementation challenges are not always linked to policy design alone, but can also be influenced by how effectively priorities, information, and responsibilities are communicated across institutions and stakeholder groups.

Many of the issues raised during the consultation highlighted the importance of stronger communication systems in supporting implementation outcomes, and among the recurring themes were: Weak feedback mechanisms between farmers and policymakers; Challenges in translating technical information into practical knowledge for farmers; Limited use of local and community-based communication channels; Inconsistent messaging across institutions and programmes; Low awareness of national agricultural initiatives at subnational levels; and weak coordination among actors across the food system.

Limited integration of communication and stakeholder engagement into implementation processes. Although these issues were discussed within different thematic areas, collectively they underscored the role communication plays in connecting policy intentions with implementation realities.

As Nigeria moves toward finalising its 2026–2035 Strategic Action Plan, the consultation highlighted both the opportunities and challenges that will shape implementation over the next decade.

Beyond investments, financing mechanisms, and institutional reforms, the discussions suggested that achieving meaningful food systems transformation will also depend on how effectively stakeholders remain connected through dialogue, knowledge sharing, coordination, and continuous engagement.

If the CAADP Kampala Declaration is to move successfully from policy commitment to measurable impact, implementation will require not only strong frameworks and resources but also systems that ensure priorities are clearly communicated, understood, and owned across all levels of the agricultural sector.