The Anambra State Government has advocated estate farming, mechanisation and stronger private-sector investment as key strategies for addressing Nigeria’s growing food insecurity and boosting agricultural productivity.
The call was made at the maiden seminar of the Farmtech Business Forum (FBF) in Onitsha, where government officials, agricultural experts, investors and other stakeholders identified technology-driven agriculture and increased youth participation as critical to improving national food production.
Presenting a paper titled “Strengthening Strategies for Food Security Through Estate Farming, Technology and Industrialisation”, the Special Assistant to Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Agriculture, Sir Jude Nwankwo, said traditional farming methods could no longer meet the food demands of Nigeria’s rapidly growing population.
Representing the Anambra State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Ben Chuks Odoemena, Nwankwo identified climate change, outdated farming practices and declining youth participation as major challenges undermining food security.
He said changing weather patterns had disrupted planting seasons, while the low involvement of young people had slowed innovation and the adoption of modern agricultural technologies needed to improve productivity.
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Nwankwo said Anambra was promoting estate farming by bringing farmers together in organised agricultural clusters where they could share machinery, irrigation facilities and other resources, thereby reducing production costs and improving efficiency.
He said the initiative aligns with Governor Soludo’s vision of transforming Anambra into a prosperous, liveable and globally competitive state with a modern agricultural sector capable of supporting industrialisation and meeting growing demand for food and agricultural raw materials.
According to him, the state is also promoting Public-Private-Community Partnerships (PPCP), irrigation-led farming, competitive agricultural value chains and investment-driven agricultural development to increase food production and create sustainable livelihoods.
Nwankwo urged private investors to finance modern agricultural estates while government provides critical infrastructure, including rural roads, reliable electricity and other facilities needed to attract investment and improve productivity.
The recommendations were part of deliberations at the seminar themed “Strengthening Strategies for Food Security Through Estate Farming, Technology and Industrialisation”, held at the Presidential Hall, Patterson Auditorium, All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha.
In his keynote address, Professor Olusegun Sogbesan said Nigeria’s food crisis persists because food production has failed to keep pace with demand despite the availability of money in the economy.
He attributed part of the challenge to declining access to fertile farmland as agricultural land continues to be converted to residential developments, urging estate developers, investors and traders to channel more resources into agricultural estates to improve food availability.
Participants also stressed the need to attract more young people into agriculture through technology and agribusiness opportunities capable of creating jobs and increasing productivity.
