Written by NASS, Agricultural Institutions Unite Over Food Security, Research Funding Crisis The National Assembly and Nigeria’s agricultural research institutions have agreed to strengthen collaboration on food security, legislative reform, and research funding , a partnership they say is long overdue.
The Senate Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions announced the agreement at a press conference held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan, on May 16, 2026.
The occasion was to formally announce the maiden Legislative Summit and Extension, scheduled to hold at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan.
Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who represents Oyo South Senatorial District and chairs the committee, said the summit became necessary because Nigeria’s farmers remain disconnected from research breakthroughs that could change their output.
“Many farmers remain disconnected from modern agricultural innovations despite several breakthroughs recorded by Nigerian research institutions,” Mr. Alli said.
“We must put in place the right legislation to support our institutions, improve curricula, encourage collaboration and strengthen food security.”
He added that agriculture without research amounts to guesswork, a condition he said Nigeria has allowed to persist for too long.
Sitting on Shelves Senator Alli pointed to improved cocoa and cassava varieties developed by Nigerian institutions as examples of innovations that farmers have not accessed.
Weak extension linkages, he said, are to blame. He also recalled Nigeria’s fall from agricultural leadership, noting that Malaysia once sourced oil palm seedlings from this country and has since overtaken it in global production.
That history, he said, underlines the cost of policy neglect and poor institutional coordination. The summit will bring together more than 28 agricultural institutions, development partners, and policymakers.
Expected participants include representatives from the European Union, Germany’s GIZ, the British High Commission, and the Malaysian Embassy. Discussions will cover youth and women involvement in mechanised agriculture, improved input access, market systems, and reduction of post-harvest losses through solar-powered drying technology.
Mohammed Attanda, Executive Director of the National Horticultural Research Institute, said the summit will help strengthen the legislative frameworks that guide agricultural research and training.
He noted that Nigerian institutions have skilled manpower and competitive innovations but need better coordination and sustained funding. Dr. Adedeji Rasheed, Acting Executive Director of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, went further, calling on private sector players to step up.
He said government funding alone cannot sustain the level of research Nigeria needs, urging agribusiness stakeholders across the value chain to contribute. Prof. Oluwatosin Gabriel of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training made a similar case, arguing that Nigeria has the capacity to achieve food sufficiency if the right policies, funding, and institutional synergy are in place.
Mr. Akeem Abas, chairman of the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, described the summit as a timely intervention for both agricultural productivity and economic development.
