About 250,000 farmers across eight states have been insured under a risk-mitigation initiative coordinated by the Presidential Food Systems Coordination Unit (PFSCU) between April and October 2025.
The insurance, which covers the 2025 wet-season farming cycle, was extended to farmers in Borno, Ekiti, Enugu, Kaduna, Jigawa, Niger, Plateau, and Taraba states. According to official documents obtained from the unit, the policy aims to protect smallholder farmers from climate shocks and market volatility that continue to threaten Nigeria's food security.
Established in 2024 under the National Economic Council (NEC), the PFSCU was designed to coordinate food-system interventions across federal, state, and local governments. The unit, led by the Technical Assistant to the President on Agriculture, Marion Moon, is implementing the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism (NAPM) while supervising federal-state food programmes.
Vice President Kashim Shettima had earlier described NAPM as a "data-driven, state-led model" for synchronising agricultural activities nationwide using real-time analytics.
According to PFSCU records, verification and farmer-extension workshops for the insurance scheme began in April 2025 across the pilot states, including additional coverage in five others—Cross River, Edo, Ebonyi, Kebbi, and Oyo—that are yet to receive NAPM inputs.
The policy offers crop-failure protection and improved access to agricultural inputs for farmers affected by flooding, drought, and price instability. Coverage will continue through the 2026 dry-season farming cycle before nationwide expansion.
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Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Food and Agriculture Organisation warn that climate-induced farmer losses could worsen Nigeria's food crisis. While food inflation dropped slightly to 16.87 per cent in September 2025, over 30 million Nigerians still faced acute food insecurity during the lean season.
The PFSCU stated that the insurance initiative complements other flagship programmes such as the Harvesting Hope Caravan, the 30-per-cent Value-Addition Bill, and the €995 million Nigeria–Brazil Green Imperative Project. The unit also plans to integrate the scheme's database into the NEC's live food-balance dashboard by 2026.
Despite the progress, Moon revealed that only three states—Ekiti, Cross River, and Jigawa—have fully committed to the programme.
"What we found is that the states represented on the steering committee have moved faster because they understand our daily operations and the value of engagement," Moon explained.
She emphasised that stronger collaboration with sub-national governments remains crucial to achieving national food-security goals.
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