Nigeria has huge agricultural potential. With over 84 million hectares of arable land, of which only 40% is cultivated; a population of 167 million people, making her Africa’s largest market; 230 billion cubic meters of water; and abundant and reliable rainfall in over two thirds of its territory, the country has some of the richest natural resources for agricultural production in the world. Not surprisingly, Nigeria used to be a major player in the global agricultural market in the past, as the world’s largest producer of groundnuts and palm oil in the 1960s, and the second largest exporter of cocoa. The country was also self-sufficient in food production before the emergence of oil in the 1960s.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), is a Ministry of the Nigerian government that regulates agricultural research, agriculture and natural resources, forestry and veterinary research all over Nigeria.
The vision of the Ministry is to grow Nigeria’s agricultural sector. Specifically, the vision is to “achieve a hunger-free Nigeria through an agricultural sector that drives income growth, accelerates achievement of food and nutritional security, generates employment and transforms Nigeria into a leading player in global food markets to grow wealth for millions of farmers”.
Primarily funded by the Federal Government, the Ministry currently superintends almost fifty parastatals operating as either key departments or agencies across the country.
The Ministry has 2 major departments namely Technical and Service Departments
Technical Departments: Agriculture (Trees and Crops), Fisheries, Livestock, Land Resources, Fertilizer, Food Reserve & Storage and Rural Development.
Service Departments: Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, PPAS (Plan, Policy, Analysis & Statistics) and Co-operatives
Their Vision: Grow Nigeria’s agricultural sector
What they have started doing!
Develop strategic partnerships to stimulate investments to drive a market-led agricultural transformation
