By Katherine Abayomi
As global agricultural systems come under increasing pressure to meet rising food demand, stakeholders in Nigeria are calling for a paradigm shift toward agroecology as a sustainable solution to the country’s food and environmental challenges.
With Nigeria’s large and growing population, combined with climate change, declining soil fertility, inadequate support for farmers, and persistent insecurity, food production faces mounting barriers. Against this backdrop, civil society organisations (CSOs) are advocating for the widespread adoption of agroecological practices that not only boost food productivity but also promote environmental sustainability, public health, and economic resilience for smallholder farmers.
Agroecology, which emphasises ecological balance, biodiversity, local empowerment, and food sovereignty, is gaining traction in Nigeria through the support of CSOs, public institutions, and farmer-led initiatives. At a recent national conference, stakeholders stressed the need for coordinated efforts to advance agroecological practices and create a policy environment that supports their growth.
The conference brought together a cross-section of actors in the agroecology and organic agriculture space, including farmers, researchers, policymakers, media professionals, youth, and women’s groups. Participants engaged in dialogue, shared knowledge, and mapped out strategies for scaling agroecology across the country.
Presentations highlighted the progress and challenges facing agroecology and organic agriculture in Nigeria. The dialogue focused on closing policy gaps, fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and exposing false solutions to the food and climate crisis.
Stakeholders agreed that agroecological practices go beyond achieving food security—they foster food sovereignty, empowering local communities to retain control over seeds, farming systems, and food choices. Agroecology also promotes healthy and culturally appropriate nutrition, enhances soil health, improves biodiversity, and builds climate resilience through reduced dependence on industrial agricultural inputs.
Several international success stories were shared to illustrate agroecology’s transformative power. In Ghana, drought-resistant orange-fleshed sweet potatoes improved nutrition in dryland farming communities. In Kenya, the Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Network revived traditional farming practices, boosting crop production and strengthening rural enterprises. Similarly, in Malawi, the “Never Ending Food” initiative uses permaculture-based agroecology to fight hunger, diversify diets, and rehabilitate degraded land.
Nigeria’s Be the Help Foundation Agroforestry Farm was cited as a local example demonstrating how agroecology can simultaneously deliver economic empowerment and environmental sustainability.
Stakeholders emphasized that Nigeria’s focus must shift from merely achieving food security to ensuring food sovereignty. “Food security cannot be achieved without local control over food systems, seeds, and agricultural processes,” they said, urging for policies that protect farmers’ rights and promote agricultural autonomy.
In a communiqué endorsed by 20 civil society organisations and over 70 stakeholders—including farmers, academics, youths, women, and government representatives—the following key recommendations were made:
- Recognize agroecology as vital for national food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture, and develop a supportive policy framework.
- Prioritize food sovereignty over food security in national policy discourse and implementation.
- Ban genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and instead invest in agroecological research and practices to enhance food productivity.
- Support local food systems by encouraging Nigerians to embrace subsistence farming and advocate for healthy food policies.
- Promote youth involvement through structured training programmes to ensure the intergenerational transfer of indigenous knowledge.
- Integrate agroecology into school curricula and prioritize it within academic research institutions.
- Establish national seed banks to preserve indigenous seeds and protect farmers’ sovereignty.
- Ensure equitable land tenure systems that address insecurity and improve access to land for women and young farmers.
- Develop national standards for organic and agroecological farming to ensure quality and sustainability.
- Deploy extension workers with specialised knowledge in agroecology to assist farmers in adopting climate-resilient practices.
- Follow up on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security’s commitment to mainstream agroecology into national agricultural policies, particularly in Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0).
- Strengthen communication channels among farmers, researchers, communities, and policymakers to improve knowledge sharing and visibility of agroecological methods.
The communiqué was signed by the following organisations: Organic and Agroecological Initiative (ORAIN), Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), GOTOMO Farms, Africa Projects Development Center, Urban-Rural Environmental Defenders (U-RED), Be the Help Foundation, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Center, Ubuntu Environmental Development Foundation, Environmental Rights Action (ERA), Women Environment Programme (WEP), Centre for Food Safety and Agricultural Research, Network of Women and Youth in Agriculture, Women and Children Life Advancement Initiative, Youth for Environmental Sustainability and Development, GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, Youth in Agroecology and Restoration Network (YARN), Gender & Environmental Risk Reduction Initiative (GIERI), and Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).
