Vice President Kashim Shettima says Nigeria is embracing artificial intelligence and advanced technologies to overhaul its food production systems, at a time when global hunger is rising due to climate shocks, conflicts, and market instability.
Speaking on Monday at the United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa, Shettima explained that the country’s new agricultural strategy now includes AI, geospatial analytics, and satellite-driven climate intelligence, as reported by Nairametrics.
“Artificial intelligence, geospatial analytics, and satellite-driven climate intelligence are now part of our agricultural vocabulary,” he said.
“We are deploying these tools to monitor production, enhance transparency, connect producers to markets, and reduce waste across the value chain.”
He emphasized that Nigeria’s transformation efforts are rooted in local capacity.
“Our faith in the capacity of our people remains unshaken. In partnership with the African Development Bank and IFAD, we are investing in Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones. These hubs are not just places of production. They are engines of transformation.”
According to Shettima, these zones are designed to create jobs, attract private investment, and connect rural producers with both local and global markets.
But he warned that improving food production alone is not enough. “But production is not enough. We believe that a sustainable food system must also be a healthy one,” he said.
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Shettima highlighted several efforts aimed at improving nutrition across the country.
Nigeria has expanded school feeding programs, introduced nutrition-sensitive farming practices, and launched community-driven nutrition education efforts.
Through the Nutrition 774 initiative, he said, every one of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas is now central to nutrition delivery. “This is more than a summit. This is a reckoning,” Shettima said.
“The scars of conflict, the uncertainties of climate, the distortions of markets, and the missteps in policy are all calling us to renew our commitment to multilateralism. A broken food system in any part of the world diminishes the dignity of humanity as a whole.”
He noted that food and nutrition security are now central priorities in both the National Development Plan 2021–2025 and the Nigeria Agenda 2050.
As part of this effort, the Federal Executive Council has approved the National Multi-Sectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition to implement the country’s updated food and nutrition policy.
New Nutrition Departments are also being set up in key ministries to improve oversight and accountability.
The urgency of these efforts was shared by other leaders at the summit.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called for more consistent concessional financing to support agriculture in Africa, warning that hunger and climate change are “deeply linked.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a recorded message, said food systems are about “more than food, they are about climate, justice, and the right to a better future.”
Despite global commitments, hunger has continued to grow.
Guterres said progress made since 2021 has been set back by economic slowdowns, conflict, and reduced development support.
Shettima, however, said Nigeria is committed to leading efforts to build resilient food systems that address both short-term needs and long-term sustainability.
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Image Credit: The Cable
