ActionAid Nigeria has called for urgent reforms in the implementation of the Federal Government’s National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) Wheat Intervention Programme, warning that structural and operational gaps are limiting its impact on local wheat production and food security.
The organisation made the call in Abuja on Wednesday while presenting its assessment report titled “Beyond the Official Narratives: ActionAid Nigeria Community Scorecard Report on the NAGS-AP Wheat Dry Season Farming Programme in Nigeria.”
Suwaiba Muhammad-Dankabo, Deputy Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, said the programme was designed to reduce Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imported wheat, currently estimated at about 90 per cent, but implementation challenges have slowed progress.
She noted that the initiative, funded by the African Development Bank with about $134 million, was intended to boost dry-season wheat production, support smallholder farmers and strengthen domestic food supply chains.
However, she said field findings from six states revealed that many farmers are yet to fully benefit from the intervention.
According to the report, several factors are undermining the effectiveness of the programme, including:
- Late delivery of farm inputs
- Limited productivity gains among farmers
- Financial constraints for smallholder farmers
- Weak coordination among implementing agencies
Muhammad-Dankabo said these challenges have reduced the programme’s ability to achieve its core objective of expanding local wheat production.
ActionAid urged the Federal Government to introduce a range of reforms to improve implementation, including:
- A national wheat seed multiplication strategy
- A zonal wheat suitability framework
- Gender-responsive agricultural financing
- Stronger irrigation infrastructure investment
- Improved agricultural extension services
The organisation also recommended stricter timelines for input distribution, particularly ensuring that seeds and fertilisers are delivered before October each year to align with planting cycles.
ActionAid further called for greater transparency in the selection and monitoring of beneficiaries, including:
- Publication of beneficiary lists at ward level
- Real-time digital dashboards for programme tracking
- Stronger ICT systems during input redemption
- Investigations into alleged diversion of inputs and fake agrochemicals
- Sanctions for erring agro-dealers
It also urged state governments to recruit more agricultural extension workers, including women, to improve field-level support for farmers.
The organisation encouraged farmers and farmer groups to make better use of inputs provided under the scheme and improve digital literacy to engage more effectively with modern agricultural programmes.
It also called on development partners, including the African Development Bank, to enforce stronger accountability mechanisms and expand civil society participation in monitoring and evaluation.
Muhammad-Dankabo stressed that while the government’s intention to reduce wheat import dependence is commendable, implementation must improve for the programme to deliver real impact.
“The wheat farmers of Nigeria deserve a programme that delivers results, promotes transparency and ensures accountability. The time to act on these findings is now,” she said.
