Table 5 Selected national food and agriculture policies in Nigeria
Policy | Year | Goal(s)/objectives | Key considerations to FAO recommendations | Policy challenges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Agricultural Policy for Nigeria | 1988 | To achieve self-sufficiency in food and agricultural raw materials | Contained objective to attain food security, but lacked focus on improving nutrition | Did not contain nutrition-related objectives |
The New Nigerian Agricultural Policy | 2001 | To achieve self-sufficiency in basic food supply and the attainment of food security, increased production of export crops and agricultural raw materials for industries through improved production and processing technologies; rational utilization and improved protection of agricultural land resources for the sustainability of agricultural production; generation of gainful employment for Nigerians; and improvement in the quality of life of rural dwellers | Contained explicit objective of attaining food security, but lacked nutrition-related objectives | Lacks nutrition-specific objectives and strategies to improve nutrition outcomes Policy had a positive impact on food self-sufficiency but was ineffective in addressing food stability [54] |
National Policy on Food and Nutrition | 2001 | To improve the nutritional status of all Nigerians, with particular emphasis on the most vulnerable groups, i.e., children, women and the elderly | Contained targets to address food and nutrition problems Promotes proper land and soil conservation practices Aims to establish channels for distribution of inputs for vulnerable farmers Aims to increase women’s access and control over resources for agricultural production Encourages integrated farming to increase food diversity Aims to improve food harvesting, processing and preservation techniques | Recognized the agriculture sector in policy strategies but did not include a clear institutional framework for engaging the agricultural sector Lacked strong coordination and monitoring system for nutritional strategies and policy implementation Policy had little to no effect in improving population-level nutritional outcomes [56] |
Agricultural Transformation Agenda 2011–2015 | 2011 | To achieve a hunger-free Nigeria through an agricultural sector that drives income growth, accelerates achievement of food and nutritional security, generates employment, and transforms Nigeria into a leading player in global food markets to grow wealth for millions of farmers | Focus on improving market access for smallholder farmers Identifies minimal opportunities for women’s empowerment | Does not contain nutrition-related objectives Attention on partnership building is to drive markets rather than to improve nutrition Focus of the agricultural transformation is to increase jobs, wealth and food security, rather than nutrition Focus was on production specialization rather than diversification, however an analysis found that between 2011 and 2016 farmers did not participate in the policy’s vision of specialized commercial production [60] |
Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016–2020 | 2016 | To build an agribusiness economy capable of delivering sustained prosperity by meeting domestic food security goals, generating exports, and supporting sustainable income and job growth | Contains the priority of food, consumption, and nutrition security Aims to make nutritious foods available at the local level (i.e., school feeding programs), food fortification through breeding and post-harvest handling Aims to raise awareness about nutritious foods | Nutrition-sensitive agriculture is recognized as a policy priority but does not contain indicators/targets for malnutrition (i.e., stunting, wasting, underweight, etc.) Minimal attention to increasing market access to vulnerable groups |
Agricultural Sector Food Security and Nutrition Strategy 2016–2020 | 2016 | To improve the food and nutrition security of all Nigerians while empowering women and promoting resilience of the most vulnerable through sustainable agricultural livelihoods | Contains nutrition-related objectives Strategic priorities include nutrition-sensitive agriculture strategies (i.e., promotion of nutrition-sensitive value chains) Focus on protecting vulnerable groups through social protection nets Aims to improve food security through production, processing, storage, and preservation and through expanding market access Focus on women’s empowerment Targets for hunger, stunting, anemia, birth weight, obesity, childhood overweight, dietary diversity, food consumption, and agricultural budget allocation to nutrition included | Importance is placed on multi-sectoral coordination, however roles of partners are unclear |
National Policy on Food And Nutrition | 2016 | To attain optimal nutritional status for all Nigerians, with particular emphasis on the most vulnerable groups such as children, adolescents, women, elderly, and groups with special nutritional needs | Contains nutrition-related objectives and targets Strategies include supporting integrated farming for increased diversity and income generation, promotion of value chain of crops and horticulture, biofortification, introduce harvesting, processing, and preservation of foods Promotes access of smallholder farmers to technologies for improved harvesting and access to markets Contains objective to improve nutrition education Strong multi-sectoral approach | Opportunities to support women’s empowerment is limited Recognizes the multi-sectoral nature of nutrition, however lacks multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms |