FG, NDDC mobilise $500m Niger Delta agric fund to galvanize food production

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – The Federal Government on Wednesday mobilised a $500 million Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund to galvanise food production, employment generation, and industrialisation in the Niger Delta region.

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima while delivering his speech at the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit, jointly convened by the Office of the Vice President and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja acknowledged the Nigeria’s development before the advent of oil and gas discovery was driven by an agrarian economy, and the foundation of Nigeria was laid upon it, which “before the barrel, it was the soil that paid our bills.”

Meanwhile, the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit 2026, with the theme ‘Unlocking Investment for Sustainable Agricultural Transformation in the Niger Delta’, was attended by all nine governors of the Niger Delta region, Federal Ministries, traditional rulers, development partners, the diplomatic community, and other stakeholders.

He said: “This is why we have gathered here today, with the governors of all nine states, upon three pillars: to launch a dedicated investment fund, to coordinate the commitments already pledged to this region, and to inaugurate the institution that will steer them, summoning the capital of the world to this corridor.

“The Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund of 500 million dollars, which we launch today, is a commercial, returns-driven vehicle spanning the value chain, from aquaculture and palm oil to cassava, cocoa, rice, horticulture, marine resources, and livestock.

“Around it, we coordinate the commitments already pledged by the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and our private and commercial financiers.

“Above both stands the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Council, which I am honoured to chair, with the NDDC as its Secretariat. Beneath it lies a demand-side strategy preparing bankable projects across all nine mandate states.”

He also said the President has placed food security among the earliest priorities of his administration, “because nations that lose control of their food eventually surrender control of their future. His July 2023 declaration of a state of emergency shifted our national approach from the boardroom to the ground, across production, market stabilisation, and food access.”

Meanwhile, the Vice President urged investors, development partners and governors to key into the Fund and treat this Summit as the start of an obligation rather than the end of a ceremony.

“The Fund is launched, the commitments are aligned, the council is constituted, and the pipeline awaits your conviction. History rewards those who plant, and posterity remembers those who water the seed”, he added.

Meanwhile, in his remarks, the Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, expressed optimism that the Summit opens a new vista for the people of the Niger Delta region as the $500 million Fund is to drive agricultural revolution that would unlock the hidden potential overshadowed by oil and gas production over seven decades, which the region was known for before oil discovery.

Ogbuku assured that the Fund would be a driver of agribusiness investments and would enable investors to make huge returns on investment.

He also said the investment plan aims to quickly serve as an alternative to oil companies shifting their operations from onshore to offshore, unlocking private capital and diversifying the regional economy.

He said, “While the IOCs are moving offshore, we are inviting agribusiness into the Niger Delta. Agribusiness is capable of creating jobs, generating wealth and driving sustainable development across the region.”

Earlier, in his address of welcome, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity, Dr Kingsley Uzoma, explained the essence of the Summit, which is to unlock the region’s huge agricultural potential that has remained untapped due to a lack of coordination to attract investors.

Uzoma also said this promoted President Bola Tinubu’s directive to ensure the massive expansion of non-oil investment, then accelerate agricultural development, and position the Niger Delta as a major contributor to Nigeria’s food security and economic growth.

“By the end of today, our goal is to leave with more than ideas. We should leave with stronger partnerships, clearer commitments, a shared implementation pathway and renewed confidence that the Niger Delta can become one of Nigeria’s foremost destinations for agricultural investment”, he said.