Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday received the final report for the World Bank–backed $500 million Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains for Growth Programme, known as AGROW, marking the end of the scheme’s design phase and the start of implementation.
The Vice President announced this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja after formally receiving the National Technical Working Group’s report on behalf of Nigeria.
He said the programme aims to “shorten the distance” between farmers and the national systems that set prices, policies and market access.
The initiative, he said, restores “the farmer to the centre of our national economic reasoning.”
Developed through seven zonal consultations and consultations with officials in 32 states, the programme reflects growing subnational commitment to agricultural development, Vice President Shettima said.
Of the $500 million financing envelope, $355 million—about 71%—will flow through participating state governments, placing local authorities at the center of delivery, he added.
The Vice President described AGROW as an instrument of macroeconomic as well as rural policy, pointing to agriculture’s role in the broader economy.
The sector accounts for about 23% of Nigeria’s GDP and employs roughly 34% of the workforce, he said.
“When yields rise, food prices ease, rural incomes recover, industries receive raw materials, and the pressure on our cities and foreign reserves begins to relax,” Shettima said.
“When yields fall, the entire economy discovers the price of hunger.”
Still, he cautioned that the $500 million package cannot close long‑standing gaps in extension services, infrastructure, processing and market access.
“The appetite is evident. The resources are not yet sufficient,” he said.
Vice President Shettima accepted the working group’s final report and approved its formal dissolution, transferring responsibility for the programme to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security as chair of the National Steering Committee and host of the Project Coordination Office.
The Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit, which coordinated the design process, will continue to play a supporting role, he said.
The World Bank’s programme leader for AGROW, Bertine Kamphuis, briefed Vice President Shettima on the working group’s findings and pledged continued bank support.
Ms. Kamphuis said the final report should help translate design into interventions that improve food security and reduce poverty. She echoed the call for stronger private‑sector participation and for policy reforms that would attract investment, saying institutions such as the Bank of Agriculture would have a role.
Officials from states that took part in the consultations offered public commitments to back the project at the implementation stage.
Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule told the Vice President that Governors had been briefed on the initiative at a Nigerian Governors’ Forum meeting and supported the programme.
Kaduna State Deputy Governor Hadiza Balarabe said Kaduna already assigns more than 13% of its budget to agriculture and planned a state coordination mechanism to ensure timely implementation.
Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele described the report’s presentation as a critical step toward execution and a demonstration of what coordinated action can achieve.
Minister of Agriculture Abubakar Kyari called AGROW a “game‑changing intervention” and said the ministry will push to complete the remaining steps—borrowing plan, financing agreement and legal opinions—needed to move from design to delivery.
The National Technical Working Group, which included federal and state agencies, private‑sector actors and development partners, produced an eight‑indicator framework to prioritize value chains by agroecological suitability, the vice president’s technical adviser Marion Moon said.
She said stakeholder feedback from the seven zonal consultations informed the final programme design.
