Nigeria plans to mobilize $500 million to finance agricultural investments in the Niger Delta, Vice President Kashim Shettima announced on Wednesday. The fund, presented at a summit dedicated to agriculture and investment in the region, is intended to cover several sectors, including rice, cassava, cocoa, palm oil, aquaculture, horticulture, fishing, and livestock.
Its financing is expected to involve both public and private capital as well as resources from multilateral institutions, including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank.
The project comes as food prices remain high in Nigeria. Overall inflation stood at 15.91% in June 2026, while food inflation reached 17.52% year-on-year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
The Niger Delta, the country’s main oil-producing region, also has agricultural and fishing activities. These sectors are still affected in some areas by pollution from oil exploitation and hydrocarbon leaks.
The government aims to develop agricultural value chains and diversify the sources of financing and income for the economy. The launch of the fund also comes in the context of ongoing concerns about food security in several regions of Nigeria, particularly in the North.
