Azubike Nwokoye says targeted and timely investment in agriculture could create more than 3.5 million jobs and generate over ₦200 billion in additional internally generated revenue (IGR) for some states.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Wednesday, ActionAid Nigeria’s Food Systems Specialist, Azubike Nwokoye, said the organisation’s analysis found that increased spending in the agriculture sector would deliver significant economic returns if governments released and spent allocated funds as planned.
“The data we use in doing this analysis is quite conservative. And it is showing with spending in the sector across FCT and the federal level that we can have at least we can add over 3.5 million jobs immediately to the sector in this 2026. And that is minimally. And those are direct jobs. So imagine what the indirect jobs would be and what to put into our economy,” he said.
Nwokoye said the analysis also projected substantial gains in state revenues through targeted agriculture investment.
“It is clearly showing in terms of return on investment, it is clearly showing that some states will have return on investment as much as 200 billion. Some states will have up to 100 something billion. Some states will have up to 300 billion, depending on the size of the state’s economy and the type of spending and their projected IGR,” he said.
According to him, the projections were based on each state’s estimated internally generated revenue for 2026 and a regression model that identified priority areas for agricultural investment.
“What we did was to take the estimated internally generated revenue of each state for 2026 as the baseline. And we used a regression model looking at what can be done and where spendings should go,” he said.
Nwokoye said the projected employment figures represented direct jobs and could increase further if governments invested more in the sector.
“And let me shock you. In terms of even job creation, we took the 2023 NBS statistic in terms of unemployment rates, which you and I know that on ground, the unemployment rate is quite, quite higher than that. And it shows that across the states and FCT, we’ll be able to, with spending only spending this targeted amount, we’ll be able to generate about 3.5 million jobs.
“And when you talk about 3.5 million jobs, you are talking about the direct jobs that will come out of this spending. So, and this is just a simulation. So, it means that and clearly that if states spend more than that, it will result to more job creation for them. It will result to making sure that there is food security and we can move towards food security in Nigeria.”
He urged federal and state governments to fully implement capital allocations for agriculture and release funds when they are needed.
“What we are advising is that spending by states and federal governments, especially the capital components, should be spent 100% and spending should happen when they are supposed to be happening and not later in the year,” he said.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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