Kyari Receives 2025 APS, Says Nigeria Records Higher Food Output, Lower Prices
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari has said that Nigeria agricultural sector experienced steady growth in the 2025 wet season with increased production and lower market prices for major staple foods.
The Minister disclosed this during the presentation of the 2025 Agricultural Performance Survey (APS) by the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria at the Ministry’s Conference Room, in Abuja, recently.
Kyari stated that the survey remains one of the most essential instruments for evidence – based planning, monitoring and policy direction in the nation’s agricultural sector as it would provide realistic picture of production outcomes, farmers experiences and sectoral constraints, upon which decisions and targeted interventions can be built.
He pointed out that the 2025 APS findings would present both encoding progress and critical challenges. “On the positive note, the report confirms steady growth in the production of major staples like rice, maize, sorghum, millet, cowpea, yam, and cassava of which show increases over 2024 levels’’.
The Minister emphasized that ‘’this progress coupled with significant drop in food prices across all zones, is a clear reflection of improved supply conditions and cumulative effect of our ongoing interventions in input support, extension delivery and mechanization.”
According to him, ‘’it is particularly heartening to see that farmers across regions have demonstrated remarkable resilience despite irregular rainfall, localized flooding, and pest pressures.” He, however noted that the report highlighted persistent challenges to include rising input costs, particularly for fertilizer and fuel, which continues to limit productivity among smallholders
Kyari stressed that “Mechanization coverage, though improving, remains uneven, post-harvest losses, especially in South -West and North-Central zones pose serious threats to food availability and farmers’ incomes”
He pledged the Ministry’s commitment to the implementation of key recommendations of the survey, institutionalization of the dry season agricultural performance surveys, which is a complement to the wet season APS, to ensure national agricultural planning becomes all year round data – driven exercise, Intensification of support for local fertilizer production, enhanced climate – smart agricultural initiatives and strengthening of extension systems by recruiting and equipping more agents, while also reaching out to a greater number of farmers.
The Minister commended the Management and Staff of NAERLS, the coordinating research Institutes and the Technical department within the Ministry for the depth of collaboration that produced the 2025 edition, noting that the complementary studies on commodity prices demonstrated a new standard of excellence and transparency in national agricultural performance reporting.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Professor Adamu Ahmed, represented by Prof. Sanusi Rafindadi stated that Nigerian farmers have shown remarkable resilience, “Our task now is to build on these gains and make agriculture more adaptive, efficient, and data-driven.”
In his presentation, the Executive Director of NAERLS, Professor Yusuf Sani gave an overview of the mandate, vision and mission of the Institute and confirmed the 2025 APS steady growth in Nigerian agriculture, driven by expanded cultivated areas, improved practices, and farmer resilience across major producing states.
In a statement signed by Mrs Eremah Anthonia on behalf of the Head of the Ministry’s Information Department, Prof. Sani added that the study also found that food prices fell sharply across all six geopolitical zones, with maize, rice, and sorghum prices dropping by more than 50 per cent nationally, reflecting improved food availability.
