By IROYIN YORUBA TELEVISION
The Federal Government has begun the second phase of a major review of Nigeria’s agricultural laws, opening a process that could reshape the legal framework governing farming, agribusiness, agricultural investment and food production across the country.
The review covers 18 agricultural laws and is aimed at replacing outdated provisions, addressing regulatory gaps and bringing Nigeria’s agricultural legislation into closer alignment with current realities, including climate change, mechanisation, agricultural technology, private-sector investment and changing food systems.
The second phase of the exercise began in Abuja on September 24, 2026, during a stakeholders’ technical retreat organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
Government officials said the first phase had already involved a broad diagnostic assessment of existing agricultural legislation. That exercise identified provisions considered obsolete, overlapping institutional responsibilities and areas where the existing legal framework no longer adequately reflects the conditions facing Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
The latest phase is intended to move the process from identifying problems to developing concrete legal reforms.
The Director of Legal Services at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Hafsat Dupe Belgore, represented at the retreat by Assistant Legal Adviser Manbyen Mamvong, said the second phase would focus on validating the findings from the first stage, examining draft reform proposals and gathering additional sector-specific contributions.
She said the process was intended to produce a legal framework that would be practical, enforceable and inclusive while supporting food sovereignty and agribusiness-led economic growth.
The government’s decision to review the laws comes at a time when agriculture is facing several simultaneous pressures.
Farmers are dealing with changing weather patterns, higher production costs, access to finance, land issues, inadequate storage and transportation infrastructure, post-harvest losses and the need for improved access to modern agricultural technologies.
At the same time, Nigeria is seeking to increase domestic food production, reduce dependence on imported food products where local production can meet demand and expand agricultural exports.
These objectives require more than increasing the amount of land cultivated. They also depend on the rules governing land, seeds, fertiliser, livestock, fisheries, agricultural research, processing, investment and other parts of the food system.
A legal framework designed for an earlier agricultural environment may not adequately address technologies and business models that are now becoming more important.
Mechanisation is one example.
Nigeria’s agricultural sector still includes a large number of smallholder farmers who rely heavily on manual labour and relatively basic production methods. At the same time, the government and private investors are promoting mechanised farming, irrigation, improved inputs, processing facilities and technology-based agricultural services.
A modern legal framework needs to account for the interaction between traditional smallholder farming and emerging commercial agricultural operations.
The same applies to agricultural technology.
New crop varieties, digital farming services, precision agriculture, improved irrigation systems and other technologies are changing the way farmers can produce and market agricultural commodities.
The government has recently placed greater emphasis on agricultural research and improved crop varieties as part of efforts to raise productivity.
On September 24, stakeholders in agricultural research and plant breeding also called for greater adoption of breeding innovations to address food-security challenges.
The Institute for Agricultural Research at Ahmadu Bello University, for example, has been demonstrating improved TELA maize varieties to farmers in Kano State. The varieties are designed to improve productivity and provide protection against major insect pests while also addressing production challenges associated with drought.
Such developments demonstrate why agricultural legislation increasingly needs to interact with scientific research, biotechnology, seed systems and technology transfer.
The laws under review are expected to be examined against these changing realities.
Another major consideration is climate change.
Agricultural production is directly affected by rainfall patterns, drought, flooding, temperature changes, soil conditions and pest outbreaks. Farmers increasingly require access to climate information and technologies that can help them adapt to changing conditions.
Recent agricultural discussions in Kaduna, for example, have focused on climate-smart farming, improved seeds, soil testing, weather information and the need for stronger extension services.
The recurrence of such issues highlights the growing connection between agricultural policy and environmental conditions.
A legal framework that does not sufficiently address climate resilience may make it more difficult to coordinate the policies and investments required to protect agricultural production.
The current review also has implications for agricultural investment.
Private investors considering large-scale farming, processing, storage, logistics, agricultural technology or other agribusiness ventures need clear rules and predictable regulatory responsibilities.
Where different institutions have overlapping mandates or where regulations are unclear, businesses can face delays, additional costs or uncertainty.
The Federal Government says the review is intended to help address such problems.
The first phase reportedly identified overlapping mandates among institutions and regulatory gaps. The second phase will therefore consider how those responsibilities can be clarified and harmonised.
That could be important for both farmers and businesses because agriculture is not limited to what happens on the farm.
Food moves through a long chain involving input suppliers, farmers, aggregators, transporters, processors, wholesalers, retailers and consumers.
Weaknesses in one part of that chain can affect the entire system.
For example, farmers may produce more food but still struggle to earn adequate returns if storage is unavailable and they are forced to sell immediately after harvest. Processors may have difficulty obtaining reliable supplies if production is inconsistent. Consumers can face higher prices when transportation and processing costs rise.
A comprehensive agricultural legal framework therefore needs to consider the wider food system rather than focusing exclusively on crop production.
Fisheries are another area receiving attention.
The latest review process has been linked to efforts to provide an improved legal and infrastructure environment for fisheries investment. Nigeria has substantial inland and coastal fishing resources, but the sector faces challenges involving infrastructure, processing, cold storage, environmental sustainability and access to markets.
Improved regulation could help clarify responsibilities and support investment while also protecting aquatic resources.
Livestock production presents another set of legal and economic issues.
Nigeria’s livestock sector involves farmers, pastoralists, commercial ranching operations, processors, animal-health professionals and traders. The sector also intersects with land use, veterinary services, animal disease control, food safety and agricultural markets.
Modernising agricultural legislation could provide an opportunity to ensure that regulations across these different areas are better coordinated.
The reform process is also taking place against the background of the Federal Government’s broader food-security strategy.
Government officials have repeatedly identified agriculture as a major component of efforts to increase domestic production and create jobs.
Agriculture remains one of Nigeria’s largest sources of employment and supports millions of households, particularly in rural communities. Its performance therefore has implications beyond food availability.
When agricultural production rises, demand can increase for transportation, processing, packaging, storage, machinery, financial services and other businesses.
A stronger agricultural value chain can consequently create opportunities outside primary farming.
However, agricultural growth can be limited when farmers lack access to land, finance, inputs, technology, markets or infrastructure.
The legal framework cannot solve all these problems by itself, but government officials argue that effective laws are necessary for creating the institutional environment within which other interventions can operate.
The current process is therefore not simply about rewriting legislation.
It is also an attempt to determine whether the institutions responsible for implementing agricultural policies have clear mandates and whether the rules governing the sector are sufficiently adaptable.
The Federal Ministry said the first phase was deliberately consultative, with stakeholders providing information about the weaknesses they encounter in the existing system.
The second phase is expected to continue that consultation.
Representatives of the National Assembly, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, departments and agencies under the Agriculture Ministry, legal experts and other stakeholders participated in the technical retreat.
The involvement of lawmakers is particularly relevant because many of the proposed reforms will eventually require legislative consideration.
The review process is expected to result in proposed amendments and a harmonised legal document. According to the consultant leading the technical work, the approved proposals will subsequently be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for legal drafting.
This means the current retreat does not itself constitute the final enactment of new agricultural laws.
The process must move through additional legal and legislative stages before proposed changes can become binding legislation.
That distinction is important for farmers, investors and other stakeholders following the development.
The government is currently reviewing and drafting reforms; the existing laws remain applicable until any amendments or replacements are formally enacted and brought into force.
The eventual success of the reform will therefore depend partly on how well the proposed changes translate into practical rules.
Agricultural laws can appear effective on paper but prove difficult to implement if responsibilities are unclear, enforcement institutions lack resources or regulations create unnecessary administrative burdens.
The government has consequently said the new framework should be practical and enforceable.
For farmers, implementation will be especially important.
Smallholder farmers may not have legal departments or specialised advisers to interpret complicated regulations. Rules governing seeds, land, agricultural inputs, livestock, fisheries or market participation need to be sufficiently clear for people operating at different scales.
For investors, predictability will also be important.
Agricultural projects often require significant capital and may take several years before producing returns. Investors therefore need confidence that the rules governing their activities will be stable, transparent and consistently applied.
For the government, the challenge is balancing investment with public interests such as food security, environmental protection, consumer safety and the interests of small-scale producers.
The review of the 18 laws provides an opportunity to address those competing considerations within a coordinated framework.
It also comes as Nigeria attempts to move further from primary commodity production toward processing and value addition.
Producing crops is only one part of agricultural development. Processing commodities locally can create additional employment, increase the value of agricultural products and reduce losses caused by inadequate storage.
The government has increasingly promoted agribusiness and local processing as part of its economic strategy.
A modern agricultural legal framework could help define the regulatory environment for businesses involved in processing, storage, logistics, agricultural technology and other parts of the value chain.
The review could also influence how Nigeria responds to international agricultural markets.
Exporters require standards, certification systems, traceability and other regulatory mechanisms that allow Nigerian agricultural products to compete in international markets.
Where domestic regulations are outdated or fragmented, exporters can face difficulties meeting international requirements.
Harmonising agricultural laws could therefore have implications for both domestic food production and export development.
At the same time, food sovereignty remains a central objective identified by the government.
Food sovereignty in this context involves strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to produce sufficient food domestically and reduce vulnerabilities associated with excessive dependence on external supplies.
However, achieving that objective will require productivity gains, reliable infrastructure, access to finance, improved agricultural research and functioning markets alongside legal reform.
The government’s legal review should therefore be understood as one component of a much broader agricultural transformation effort.
The process also provides an opportunity to address emerging areas that were less prominent when some existing laws were originally developed.
Digital agriculture, climate-smart farming, modern breeding technologies, large-scale irrigation, mechanisation, renewable-energy applications, agricultural finance and modern food-processing systems have all become increasingly relevant to the sector.
Regulation needs to keep pace with these developments without unnecessarily restricting innovation.
Stakeholders participating in the review have been asked to provide frank and constructive input.
The Ministry has said contributions from the technical retreat will be captured and incorporated into the legal drafting process.
The level of stakeholder participation could therefore influence how well the eventual legislation reflects the realities faced by farmers, processors, investors, researchers and other agricultural actors.
The next stage will be to refine the proposed amendments based on the inputs received and produce a harmonised draft for further legal review.
The process will then need to move through the appropriate government and legislative procedures before any final changes take effect.
For Nigeria’s agricultural sector, the importance of the exercise lies in the possibility of replacing fragmented or outdated provisions with a clearer framework capable of accommodating modern production methods and emerging agricultural businesses.
The country’s food-security challenge cannot be solved by legislation alone. Farmers still need access to land, affordable finance, reliable electricity, irrigation, roads, storage, improved seeds, fertiliser, extension services and functioning markets.
But laws determine many of the rules under which those resources are developed, distributed and regulated.
A legal system that is clear, coordinated and responsive to new realities can provide a foundation for those investments.
The Federal Government has now moved the agricultural-law reform process into its second phase, with 18 laws under review and stakeholders examining proposed amendments.
The immediate task is to validate the findings from the first stage, improve the draft reforms and prepare a harmonised framework for further legal processing.
The longer-term question will be whether the resulting legislation can improve the conditions under which Nigerian agriculture operates.
If completed and implemented effectively, the reform could affect how agricultural institutions coordinate their work, how businesses invest, how new technologies are introduced and how Nigeria responds to climate and food-system pressures.
For farmers and agribusinesses, however, the ultimate measure will be practical: whether the new rules reduce uncertainty, improve access to opportunities, support investment and help create an agricultural system capable of producing more food while generating sustainable income.
The review has therefore opened another chapter in Nigeria’s effort to modernise agriculture. The work is still in progress, and the final outcome will depend on the quality of the proposed amendments, stakeholder participation, legislative consideration and the effectiveness of implementation after any new laws are enacted.