Stakeholders in Nigeria's agricultural sector have called for more inclusive financing to transform policy into tangible agribusiness growth. The appeal was made during a Partners' Roundtable Dialogue on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) 2026–2035 Agenda held on Thursday in Abuja.
The event, themed "From Policy to Enterprise: Translating CAADP into Scalable Agribusiness Opportunities", addressed the persistent gap between government policies and on-the-ground execution. Programme Manager at African Food Changemakers (AFC), Ms Kachi Nwachukwu, identified major hurdles as limited access to finance, fragmented markets, and climate-related risks. She advocated for blended finance models and stronger partnerships to support SMEs, women, and rural entrepreneurs.
Mr Azeez Salawu noted that while the new CAADP strategy aims to strengthen food security and build resilient economies, a significant gap remains in turning its priorities into viable business opportunities. He pointed out that agribusinesses, especially those led by youth, continue to face constraints in accessing crucial finance and markets. Participants included officials from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, development partners, and private sector representatives.
This dialogue exposes a familiar cycle where ambitious agricultural policies are announced with fanfare but fail to materialize for the SMEs and farmers who need them most. The repeated identification of "limited access to finance" as a key constraint, specifically for women and rural entrepreneurs, points to a systemic failure in Nigeria's financial architecture to serve its largest economic sector.
For ordinary Nigerians, this policy-execution gap translates directly to continued high food prices, limited job opportunities for youth, and missed chances for rural economic development. The people most affected are smallholder farmers and local food processors who cannot scale their operations.
This story fits the enduring pattern of Nigerian governance being strong on framework but weak on implementation, where high-level strategies consistently falter without the deliberate inclusion of the businesses meant to execute them.
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