Vice President Kashim Shettima at the weekend called for the reintroduction of agriculture in schools across Nigeria as part of national efforts to strengthen food security and economic stability.

He said that agriculture should be reintroduced not only as an academic subject but as a culture that shapes the mindset of young Nigerians.

Shettima, who was represented at the General Assembly of All Farmers Association of Nigeria in Abuja by the senior special assistant to the President on Public Health, Uju Rochas-Anwukah, said every school should have functional farms, while agriculture clubs should be revived to teach students the value of food production, land use and agribusiness.

“Agriculture must return to our schools. We must reintroduce agriculture as culture, not just curriculum. Every school should have functional farms and agriculture clubs must return—not only to teach planting, but to shape the mindset,” Shettima said.

“Our children must grow up knowing that food is wealth, our children must know that land is power, that farming is business and that agriculture is not punishment, but it is a possibility,” he said.

He called on leaders and institutions to be directly involved in agriculture, which he said remains a nation-building profession that must be embraced across all levels of society.

Shettima lamented that in Nigeria, farming has for too long been treated as a last option, a job for those who could not make it.

“That thinking is not just wrong; it is destructive. It is a lie that has cost Nigeria food security, jobs, stability, and national pride,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, highlighted the significant security challenges that farmers face but assured of the government’s commitment to improving safety in farming communities.

He urged farmers to report security threats, emphasizing that protecting farmers was essential to national food production.

Highlighting the impact of climate change, rising input costs and insecurity on agriculture in his opening address earlier, President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Dr Farouk Mudi, said delayed rainfall, flooding and high fertiliser prices were affecting productivity, urging stronger policies and investments to secure the future of farming in Nigeria.

“We are witnessing the ‘vanishing harmattan’ and erratic rainfall patterns. In the last year, the onset of rains in the Savannah belt was delayed by nearly 21 days, followed by flash floods that decimated over 500,000 hectares of rice and maize. Two years ago, a bag of NPK fertiliser was N26,000; today, it is over N53,000. The cost of high-quality agrochemicals has risen by 300%,” Mudi said.

“Farming is becoming too expensive for the very people who must provide the food. We must address the elephant in the room: our livestock sector is described as ‘Crisis Beyond the Narrative’.

“Nigeria is a livestock powerhouse with 21 million cattle, 43 million sheep, and 82 million goats. Yet, we spend $1.5 billion (N2.2 trillion) annually importing milk and dairy products. This is because our livestock sector is trapped in a cycle of conflict,” he said.

Mudi recounted what the association has lost in the last 10 years, including over 10,000 lives and ₦500 billion worth of property to farmer-herder clashes and over 3 million cattle to rustling and unplanned migration, pledging the association’s firm support for the National Livestock Transformation Plan.

“We want our herders to become modern agribusinessmen in settled ranches, and our farmers to work their fields without fear,” Mudi said.

“Security is the first input of agriculture. Every year, Nigeria spends $10 billion (over N15 trillion) on importing food items such as wheat, sugar, and fish. This is money that should be in the pockets of the farmers sitting in this room. For instance, we import over five million metric tonnes of wheat annually, and we import 90% of our sugar needs,” he said.