India has unveiled an ambitious plan to support Nigeria’s drive for food security by helping the country slash post-harvest losses estimated at nearly 50 per cent, modernise livestock production and strengthen food processing, in what could mark a significant boost to bilateral agricultural cooperation.
The initiative, which comes as Nigeria battles soaring food prices, declining agricultural productivity and mounting food insecurity, also includes technology transfer, climate-smart farming, mechanisation, financing and capacity building aimed at transforming the country’s agricultural value chain.
Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Abishek Singh, disclosed the plan on Thursday at the India-Nigeria Trade Forum on Agriculture and Allied Sector in Abuja, organised by the Indian High Commission in partnership with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).
Speaking on the theme, “Cultivating Trade, Growing Together,” Singh said Nigeria possesses enormous agricultural potential but continues to lose almost half of what its farmers produce because of inadequate storage, poor processing capacity, weak logistics and inefficient value chains.
He said India, which has transformed itself from a food-deficit nation into one of the world’s largest agricultural producers through technology and innovation, was prepared to deploy its expertise to help Nigeria reverse the trend.
“Nigeria’s agriculture contributes significantly to its GDP, and India is ready to invest in livestock, fisheries and food processing to enhance food security,” Singh said.
He added that India would support Nigeria in adopting climate-resilient farming practices to enable farmers withstand the growing impact of climate change on food production.
The envoy noted that India is a global leader in drip irrigation technology, high-yield oil palm seedlings and fertiliser production, saying these innovations could substantially improve farm productivity and reduce production costs across Nigeria.
According to him, India’s strengths in tomato processing, cold-chain logistics, food preservation and modern packaging align with Nigeria’s urgent need to reduce waste after harvest and improve value addition.
Beyond crop production, Singh announced that Indian technology companies and agritech startups are prepared to partner with Nigerian institutions by providing digital solutions, technical training and investment support.
He said financing for such partnerships could be facilitated through institutions including the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), the Bank of Industry and private-sector investors.
In the livestock sector, Singh said India would provide technical expertise to improve dairy farming through artificial insemination, better breeding techniques and cooperative models designed to increase milk and meat production.
He disclosed that India is already collaborating with Jigawa State to modernise livestock production by introducing improved breeding programmes and organising farmers into dairy cooperatives.
The High Commissioner further revealed that India had forwarded a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on agriculture and allied sectors to the Federal Government, urging Nigerian authorities to expedite its approval to unlock wider areas of cooperation.
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, welcomed the proposal, reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding agricultural partnerships under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Represented by the Director of Agribusiness and Marketing Development in the ministry, Olawumi Olajide, the minister said the government remained committed to leveraging strategic international partnerships to drive agricultural transformation.
He said collaboration with India would create jobs, promote value addition, facilitate technology transfer and strengthen Nigeria’s quest for food self-sufficiency.
Also speaking, the First Deputy President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, described the forum as a major step towards strengthening economic relations between both countries through agriculture.
Adesugba, who is also the National Vice President (India) of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), said the engagement would unlock opportunities in mechanisation, research, innovation, agro-processing and technology transfer.
He stressed that stronger Nigeria-India agricultural cooperation could accelerate economic diversification while improving food production and rural livelihoods.
The renewed agricultural partnership comes at a critical time for Nigeria, where food inflation remains one of the biggest drivers of the rising cost of living. Despite possessing more than 70 million hectares of arable land, Nigeria continues to struggle with low productivity, limited mechanisation, insecurity in farming communities, poor storage infrastructure and weak agro-processing capacity.
Agricultural experts estimate that between 30 and 50 per cent of fruits, vegetables, grains and other farm produce are lost annually before reaching consumers because of inadequate storage, transportation and processing facilities. These losses, running into billions of naira every year, reduce farmers’ incomes, discourage investment and exacerbate food shortages.
India’s proposed intervention builds on decades of growing economic relations between Abuja and New Delhi. India is already one of Nigeria’s largest trading partners, with bilateral trade spanning pharmaceuticals, energy, information technology, manufacturing and agriculture. The proposed agriculture partnership is expected to deepen those ties by introducing proven technologies that helped transform India’s own agricultural sector during and after the Green Revolution.
If implemented, the partnership could significantly reduce food losses, expand agro-industrial processing, boost dairy and livestock production, create thousands of jobs across the agricultural value chain and strengthen Nigeria’s long-term food security objectives.
