Why Nigeria needs real food system transformation

At the heart of the current system is a paradox: smallholder farmers, who produce over 80% of Nigeria’s food, remain the most marginalized actors. The majority are women operating in informal and rural settings, with limited access to land ownership, finance, and government support. Less than a quarter of these farmers can access formal credit, largely because financial systems are not designed to engage with the informal and cooperative structures where they operate. At the same time, billions of naira flow annually into agricultural programmes through public budgets, concessional loans, and green financing mechanisms (most often tractors), yet these investments are rarely tracked, independently verified, or publicly scrutinized. There is little clarity on whether these interventions reach intended beneficiaries or deliver measurable impact. This opacity has enabled inefficiency, elite capture, and, in some cases, outright mismanagement to persist unchecked.

The consequences of this system are severe and multidimensional. Nigeria continues to face a major food security crisis, with over 25 million people estimated to be at risk of acute hunger. Malnutrition remains widespread, with about 37% of children under five stunted - an indicator of chronic undernutrition and poor diet quality. At the same time, the country experiences significant food losses, with 30–40% of perishable produce lost due to weak storage and logistics systems. These losses translate into billions of naira in wasted value annually, while food prices continue to rise, deepening inequality and limiting access for vulnerable households.

Health risks are also escalating. The widespread use of highly hazardous pesticides and other chemicals inputs has raised concerns about food safety, environmental contamination, and long-term health impacts, including potential links to cancers, kidney failure, infertility and endocrine disruption. Weak enforcement and underfunded regulatory agencies allow unsafe products to remain in circulation. Compounding this is a lack of consumer awareness and weak reporting systems, meaning unsafe food often goes unchallenged.

Beyond agriculture itself, there is a deeper governance failure that shapes outcomes across the food system. Across Nigeria, communities and resident associations have increasingly taken on responsibilities that should be fulfilled by government fixing rural roads that connect farms to markets, providing water systems, renovating schools, and maintaining basic infrastructure. These grassroots efforts sustain local food systems and rural livelihoods, yet they are neither formally recognized nor supported. At the same time, public officials entrusted with resources for development are frequently implicated in mismanagement and embezzlement, further eroding trust and weakening service delivery.

This imbalance must be addressed through structural reform. If communities are investing their own resources into public goods, there should be formal mechanisms to compensate and incentivize them. Models that allow for community reimbursement or pay-back schemes, backed by law, could fundamentally shift accountability. When citizens can demand repayment or tax credits for services they have provided such as road repairs or water systems, it creates a system where governments are pressured to either deliver or be held financially accountable. In such a system, public office becomes less attractive for exploitation and more aligned with performance.

At the same time, accountability must extend across the entire food system not just government. Farmer associations, market unions, and commodity groups must also be held responsible for the quality and safety of the food supplied by their members. Self-regulation within these groups, backed by enforceable standards, can play a critical role in improving food safety outcomes. This is particularly important in informal markets, where regulatory reach is limited but associations are strong and influential.

Consumers, too, must become active participants in enforcing accountability. Nigeria has a rapidly growing digital and social media ecosystem that can be leveraged to transform how citizens report unsafe food, poor services, and failed government interventions. Simple, accessible reporting platforms integrated with social media can enable real-time feedback, crowdsource evidence, and amplify pressure on both public institutions and private actors. When consumers are informed, organized, and empowered to speak out, they become a powerful force for change.

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Transforming Nigeria’s food system, therefore, requires more than technical fixes; it demands a new social contract. One where public investments are transparently tracked and evaluated; where communities are recognized and compensated for their contributions; where farmers and market actors are accountable for what they produce and sell; and where citizens are empowered to demand better. It also requires a shift toward nutrition-sensitive, agro-ecological, and inclusive systems that prioritize health, sustainability, and resilience.

Nigeria does not lack resources, ideas, or capable actors. What it lacks is alignment, accountability, and enforcement. Until these gaps are addressed, billions will continue to be spent with little to show, communities will continue to carry the burden of failed governance, and the promise of a food system that truly serves its people will remain out of reach.

The time to act is now not just to produce more food, or sharing bags of rice, but to build a system that works for everyone.

•Ofoegbu is program manager, Heinrich Boell Stiftung, member - Alliance for Action on Pesticides in Nigeria (AAPN).