The Federal Government of Nigeria has endorsed a comprehensive National Soybean Expansion Strategy aimed at increasing the country’s soybean output by 460,000 metric tonnes. This milestone was reached during a validation workshop held in Abuja, signaling a unified push to reposition soybean as a strategic commodity in Nigeria’s agricultural and economic landscape.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, represented by Mr. Ibrahim Alkali, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to a private sector-led approach that ensures food security while promoting exports. He described soybean as vital for nutrition, animal feed production, and foreign exchange generation.
The newly validated strategy sets out to scale up soybean production by improving productivity, expanding cultivated land, and enhancing processing infrastructure. It also aims to strengthen both domestic and export markets, attract investment, and deepen the relationship between farmers and the processing industry.
Mr. Roland Oroh, Managing Director of the Commodities Development Initiative (CDI), emphasized that the strategy is a product of broad collaboration among stakeholders across the soybean value chain. These include farmers, processors, exporters, and government agencies. He confirmed that implementation will soon begin under a formal Public-Private Partnership framework established through the Nigeria Soybean Partnership.
The workshop, hosted by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, brought together major sector stakeholders such as the National Soybean Association of Nigeria, Oil Seed Processors Association of Nigeria, and the Dawanu Market Development Association, all of whom contributed to shaping the strategy.
The initiative marks a significant step toward transforming soybean into a driver of food security, industrial growth, and foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria.
