The Nigerian Government on Wednesday signed a financing agreement to kickstart the implementation of a $158.15 million Value Chain Programme in Northern Nigeria (VCN), a project aimed at supporting agriculture value chain development and value addition for farmers in nine states in the country’s northern region.

The initiative, part of the government’s ongoing efforts to revolutionise the nation‘s agriculture sector, is co-funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the French Development Agency (AFD), and the Government of Nigeria.

The VCN project is an eight-year initiative conceived after Vice President Kashim Shettima, during UNFSS stocktaking in Rome on 24 July 2023, requested IFAD to scale up its portfolio in Nigeria and mobilise additional partners and donors to support the agri-food transformation and food security of the Renewed Hope Agenda. It was, however, validated on 21 March 2024.

The initiative is expected to sustainably reduce poverty, enhance nutrition, and improve the resilience of rural and most vulnerable populations in the nine northern states, namely, Borno, Bauchi, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara.

Speaking during the signing ceremony of the financing agreement at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Vice President Shettima described the initiative as a product of critical thinking about the northern region‘s economic reality.

According to a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said the project fulfils the President Bola Tinubu administration‘s promise to reduce poverty in Nigeria, restore dignity to the nation‘s farmers, and ensure food security.

“It is a declaration of faith in the North, not as a region of deficits, but as a place of abundance. It also invites us to play our part in fulfilling the promise to reduce poverty, nourish our people, and restore dignity to farming families across Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, Yobe, and Zamfara,” Shettima said.

“What has brought us together today is an investment of $158.15 million, co-financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Federal Government of Nigeria, and other stakeholders. This reflects President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to prioritising what matters most—people, productivity, and prosperity,” he said.

Shettima recalled that the Tinubu administration recently commenced laying of foundation for the construction of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZS) across Nigeria, saying the VCN programme would feed into the SAPZS, serving as “a steady pipeline of raw materials and ensuring our processors no longer grope for quality inputs”.

“This synergy will shift us from exporting raw produce to exporting value-added goods—creating jobs, wealth, and industrial stability,” he said.

The Vice President further said “the recent global trade disruptions and the resurgence of protectionism are loud warnings” for Nigeria to grow what its people eat and produce what they trade.

“The agricultural tariffs and retaliatory postures of global powers like the U.S. and China have rattled commodity chains. For a nation that has long relied on food imports, the message is clear: we must grow what we eat and produce what we trade,” Shettima said.

“The VCN answers this call. By making wheat, maize, and animal feed viable for commercial cultivation and investing in irrigation, processing, and storage facilities in states like Kebbi and Jigawa, we are not just securing food but laying the groundwork for agricultural exports that can rival our oil.

“What makes this programme exceptional is that it targets the underserved: women, youth, persons with disabilities, and returnees. It recognises that peace and prosperity are twin goals—and that in communities scarred by conflict, agriculture is not just a livelihood; it is rehabilitation,” he said.

He said the Federal Government would deploy digital tools to track every step, from farmer registration to market access, from input distribution to yield analysis, assuring that in regions where migration and insecurity are fuelled by joblessness, “the VCN provides vehicles for enterprise, income, and dignity”.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said the signing of the financing agreement represented a significant milestone in the Tinubu administration‘s efforts to transform the agricultural landscape in Nigeria under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He noted that the participation of the nine states and the presence of other critical stakeholders underscored the commitment of the sub-nationals and the Federal Government in fostering inclusivity in agricultural development and economic empowerment.

He expressed confidence that the VCN would deliver programmes and projects to improve agricultural productivity and the overall well-being of smallholder farmers, farmer groups, and women across the region.

The governors of Borno, Jigawa, and Katsina, in their separate remarks, lauded the leadership provided by President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima in implementing the VCN programme and other schemes across northern Nigeria, even as they pledged their commitment and support in actualising the objectives of the programme‘s various components while also urging the implementers to review the design and timeline for implementation to enable states to maximise the benefits therein.

Also speaking, the Country Director of IFAD, Dede Ekoue, said the programme is a $158.15 million project designed to transform agribusiness in nine northern states, informing that the programme would target about 3.1 million household members over a period of eight years.

Ekoue said interventions targeted under the programme would focus on climate-smart agriculture, leveraging innovative technologies, improving post-harvest handling and value chain addition, increasing access to business development services for youths and women agri-preneurs, boosting access to financial services, and scaling up access to digital solutions for productivity, among others.

Expected results from the interventions, she said, include the creation of over 30,000 jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for youths, women, and vulnerable groups and the construction of over 229km of roads across the region to enhance access to markets.

She stressed the need for all project stakeholders to work in unison to achieve the set objectives and the overall interest of the national economy.