Akpabio pushes collaboration to transform agric sector

Senate President Godswin Akpabio, on Wednesday, stressed the need for more synergy among the Federal Government, academia, researchers, financial institutions, development partners, technology experts, agribusiness investors, and farmers with a view to transforming food insecurity into agricultural abundance in Nigeria.

He made the call in his keynote address at the maiden National Legislative Summit and Expo on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions, themed, “Unfolding The Potential of Agricultural Colleges and Institutions Through Collaboration and Innovation To Enhance Food Security And Job Creation,” held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Represented by the Deputy Senate Majority Leader, Isa Ashiru, Akpabio explained that the future of agriculture would not be determined merely by hoes and cutlasses, but by research, technology, mechanisation, innovation, biotechnology, data systems, irrigation science, climate adaptation, and knowledge-driven productivity.

The Senate President said, “The government alone cannot transform agriculture. Educational institutions alone cannot do it. Farmers alone cannot do it. The private sector alone cannot do it.

Transformation happens when government, academia, researchers,

financial institutions, development partners, technology experts, agribusiness investors, and farmers work together within one integrated ecosystem.

“We must dismantle institutional silos and build bridges between research and practice, between policy and implementation, between innovation and accessibility.

Second, innovation. We cannot solve 21st-century problems with 20th-century methods. Our young people are creative, energetic, and technologically savvy.

“We must make agriculture attractive, profitable, mechanised, and innovation-driven. Agriculture must no longer be presented as punishment for failure, but as a frontier of opportunity and wealth creation.

“The future farmer may operate drones, use artificial intelligence for crop analysis, deploy digital irrigation systems, and manage greenhouse technology,” Akpabio stated.

He said the National Assembly remained committed to supporting initiatives that would promote food security, rural development, youth employment, and agricultural industrialisation.

Akpabio added, “A hungry nation cannot be peaceful. A hungry people cannot be stable. Hunger weakens productivity, fuels social tension, deepens poverty, and threatens national cohesion.

“But beyond feeding ourselves, Nigeria must think bigger. We must move from being merely consumers to becoming exporters.

“We must move from raw production to agro-processing. We must move from dependence to competitiveness. We must move from potential to performance.”

In his address, the Director General of IITA, and Regional Director for Africa, Simeon Ehui, said that through various collaborations in implementing bold reforms and initiatives on food security, Nigeria will achieve multiple successes worthy of celebration.

He said, “IITA is a non-profit organisation that develops agricultural technologies to address Africa’s most pressing concerns. including hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation.

“We work with a variety of partners across and beyond Africa to improve lives, food and nutrition security, increase employment, and protect natural resource integrity.

“Recent initiatives (2026) include a partnership with the Nigerian government to establish 774 soil testing laboratories and a focus on youth agribusiness development, with the MoU signed with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Ministry of Youth Development, respectively.

“We look forward to engaging in a successful and continuous partnership aimed at improving technology delivery to our large farming and agro-industrial stakeholders.

“I passionately believe that through our collaboration in implementing bold reforms and initiatives on food security, we will achieve multiple successes worthy of celebration.”

In his welcome address, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions, Sharafadeen Alli, said the summit brought together lawmakers, policymakers, heads of institutions, development partners, researchers, private sector stakeholders, investors, students, and key actors within the agricultural value chain from across Nigeria and beyond.

He said, “This gathering is not merely ceremonial; it is a platform for meaningful dialogue, strategic partnerships, legislative engagement, exploring innovation exchange, and for actionable policy recommendations that will strengthen agricultural colleges and institutions across the country.”