Dr. Kingsley Uzoma, Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement, has defended the Tinubu administration’s performance in the agricultural sector, asserting that efforts to improve food production are already showing results despite ongoing challenges.
Speaking in an in an interview on ARISE NEWS, Uzoma rejected claims that the administration has not delivered concrete improvements in the sector, saying the President inherited a system weakened by inconsistent policies and lack of coordination.
“To say that the Tinubu administration is not doing anything is quite unfortunate and false,” he said.
He acknowledged the issues raised about Nigeria’s current reliance on food imports and rising prices but maintained that the foundation for recovery is being laid. He emphasised that past administrations failed to implement a coherent strategy to transform agriculture into a fully industrialised and productive sector.
“There was a lot of politics around agriculture,” he said. “Every minister would come and bring their own roadmap. There was no continuation. There was no synchronisation.”
He blamed that lack of continuity for the failure of programmes such as the Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP) under former Minister Audu Ogbeh, the Green Alternative strategy, and the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
Uzoma insisted that the Tinubu administration has taken a different approach by seeking full alignment across all ministries and agencies.
“President Tinubu is saying let’s synchronise. Let’s take a very practical approach to industrialise agriculture in Nigeria.”
He also spoke about issues around data availability and performance tracking, noting that agricultural census data had not been compiled in years.
“We don’t even know how many farmers we have,” he said. “That is why this administration has already approved the agricultural census.”
Addressing concerns about the Nigerian agricultural system still being largely subsistence-based, Uzoma said, “We must move from just farm to table and farm to fork, to farm to processing, to industry and export.”
He said the administration was already tackling this through policy reform and capital projects like the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) and the Nigeria-Brazil Green Imperative programme.
On the structure of governance and agriculture’s position within it, Uzoma pointed to constitutional changes, “Agriculture is now in the concurrent list. The role of federal government has to be refocused.”
He said that while the federal government sets national frameworks, coordination with state and local governments is now crucial, and the current administration is working toward that through clearer roles and collaborative platforms.
Uzoma also touched on criticisms that many food policies are not translating to impact at the grassroots. In response, he highlighted the federal government’s interventions including fertiliser distribution, subsidies, and partnerships for mechanisation.
He claimed that under Tinubu’s leadership, “We have a minister who is focused on food security, a minister of state focused on crop production, and another minister focused on livestock.”
This, he said, shows a deliberate structure and commitment to segment-specific action rather than generalised policy.
“You cannot just expect that in one year, you are going to see all the results that a structured foundation will deliver in three to four years,” he added.
He urged Nigerians to measure the government’s performance in agriculture through medium-term outcomes and not immediate results.
“What you can hold this government accountable for is: is the foundation being laid, and is it different from what we’ve had in the past?”
He concluded by asserting that Nigerians will soon begin to see measurable change, With time, you will see more production, more productivity, and greater competitiveness across the agricultural value chain.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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