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President Bola Tinubu-led administration has mobilized $500 million to transform the food system in Nigeria, as per Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima.

Speaking during his visit to Rome on Monday, Vice President Shettima outlined Federal Government's plans regarding financing the food system transformation in Nigeria.

"They are set to be channeled towards innovation finance for food system transformation, the development of Nigeria's agro value chain, and our Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones programs," he said, Punch reported on Tuesday.

The vice president further shared that this fund is secured through a combination of "domestic resources, multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, climate funds, and leading agro-businesses."

He went on to explain that the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) is co-funded by the Nigerian government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to empower vulnerable farmers.

"The government of Nigeria will be showcasing its Value Chain Development Programme as a unique example of successful partnership among producers, the public sector, and private operators," he said.

This fund will also encourage the youth to engage in commercial partnerships with some of the biggest food processing and marketing firms in the world like OLAM, which is a major food and agri-business company, operational in 60 countries around the globe and generates annual revenue of $39.8 billion.

Vice President Shettima noted that the government's vision is to end hunger in Nigeria by making Nigeria's rural smallholders and operators, youth, and women living below the poverty line financially capable.

He also highlighted the new Special Processing Zones (SAPZ) program, noting that it will bring local governments, IFAD, AfDB, IsDB, GCF, OLAM, and other private actors, alongside the government of Nigeria, for transformative financing of food systems together.

The vice president also addressed the fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria and assured that the government will immediately release grains and fertilizer, adding that "President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in food security and took it as a livelihood item within the National Security Council."

Fuel subsidy removal was announced by President Tinubu on May 29 and since then, the petrol prices skyrocketed from N195 per liter to N600 per liter.

In fact, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) acknowledged the rise in petrol prices reached N617 per litre in the country last week.

Subsidy removal was first announced by former president Muhammadu Buhari in 2022 as part of fiscal and petroleum sector reforms. Although the plan was not executed because of fear of protests during the presidential election held on Feb. 25.

It was reported last week that Nigeria's inflation has increased for the sixth month in a row to reach 22.79% in June, which marked the highest in the last 17 years.

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