With adequate support, small-scale farmers throughout Nigeria could overturn rampant malnutrition and move the country toward food security. But as the Nigerian proverb goes, ‘fine words do
not produce food.’ The government is pursuing a vision of economic transformation and commercialization with agriculture at the centre, yet small-scale farmers are not the focus of investments.
Funding levels for agriculture and climate change adaptation are significantly lower than promises, and money is skewed toward larger scale projects and research. The support that smallscale farmers need is straightforward—ranging from fertilizer to market access to climate change adaptation strategies—and the Nigerian government must escalate investments to deliver these
vital resources.
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