Vice-President Kashim Shettima says Nigeria is leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), geospatial analytics, and satellite-driven climate intelligence to boost food production, enhance transparency, and connect farmers to markets in a bid to curb hunger and transform its agricultural value chain.
Speaking at the opening of the United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa on Monday, Shettima emphasised that food and nutrition are now central to Nigeria’s national development strategy.
“AI and other smart technologies are no longer futuristic ideas — they are tools we are actively using to monitor production, reduce waste, and improve market access,” he said, adding that these innovations are part of the country’s broader food systems transformation agenda.
The vice-president highlighted ongoing investments in Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones through partnerships with the African Development Bank and IFAD. These hubs, he said, are creating jobs, drawing private capital, and connecting rural farmers to national and international markets.
“But production alone is not enough,” Shettima noted. “A sustainable food system must also be a healthy one.” He revealed that Nigeria has scaled up investments in school feeding programmes, nutrition-focused agriculture, and grassroots nutrition education through the Nutrition 774 initiative, which places all 774 local governments at the heart of nutrition delivery.
He also announced that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the National Multi-Sectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition, alongside the establishment of dedicated nutrition departments across relevant ministries moves aimed at building institutional frameworks for food and nutrition governance.
Calling for renewed global cooperation, Shettima stressed the urgency of collective action in tackling the overlapping crises of conflict, climate change, and economic disparity that continue to threaten food security.
“We are not here for pleasantries,” he declared. “We are here to ensure that food becomes a right, not a privilege — and that no child goes to bed hungry.”
Other global leaders, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and representatives from Italy, Kenya, and multilateral bodies, echoed similar calls for deeper investment, innovation, and justice in food systems across Africa and beyond.