The Federal Government has inaugurated the Coalition of Farmers Associations for Food Security in Nigeria (COA-FARMERS), as the country’s agriculture sector recorded 4.39 per cent growth in the second quarter of 2026.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, who inaugurated the coalition on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja on Monday, described the sector’s performance as its strongest since 2021.
Kyari attributed the growth largely to farmers’ response to the government’s declaration of a state of emergency on food security.
He said COA-FARMERS should serve not only as an umbrella body for farmers’ organisations but also as a platform for identifying challenges facing producers, improving communication between farmers and government, and assessing the impact of agricultural interventions.
The minister said farmers needed to be actively involved in policy discussions and decision-making processes affecting the sector.
He explained that the renaming of the ministry as the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security reflected the administration’s focus on translating agricultural policies into increased food production and improved food availability.
Kyari also stressed the importance of women farmers, calling for greater opportunities for them to participate in decision-making, production, processing, aggregation and marketing.
He urged COA-FARMERS to provide honest feedback on government programmes and identify areas requiring improvement, adding that the government expected the ministry to deliver better access to inputs, higher production and productivity, improved markets and more secure livelihoods.
The minister also cited Nigeria’s election in February to chair the Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), saying the development underscored the importance of strengthening farmers’ participation in agricultural policy.
Kyari disclosed that President Tinubu had appointed him Director of the Presidential Campaign Council for Agro-Allied Commodities Mobilisation, while the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, would serve as Deputy Director.
Abdullahi, in his remarks, acknowledged the coalition’s support for Tinubu’s re-election bid and urged members to highlight the administration’s achievements in agriculture and other sectors.
The National President of COA-FARMERS, Chief Emmanuel Anoh, commended farmers across grains, roots and tubers, livestock, fisheries, horticulture, cash crops and agro-allied services for their contributions to the economy.
Anoh said the coalition comprised 99 farmer associations and commodity organisations representing producers, aggregators, processors and marketers across the agricultural value chain.
He commended government interventions, including fertiliser distribution, tractor mechanisation, the National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro-Pocket and Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones.
However, he called for a direct-to-farm approach in the distribution of agricultural interventions and quarterly meetings between the coalition and the ministry.
Anoh also appealed to the minister to facilitate a formal presentation of the coalition to President Tinubu.
The event concluded with the formal inauguration of COA-FARMERS as an umbrella platform bringing together commodity associations, farmers, agribusiness organisations, registered farmers’ associations and cooperative societies across Nigeria.
-Vanguard Nigeria