Renewed Hope Food Security Drive Takes Root in Ekiti as FG Empowers 20,160 South-West Farmers

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

The federal government Thursday deepened its Renewed Hope Agenda in the agricultural sector with the launch of a major food security intervention in Ekiti State, distributing 80,640 bags of fertiliser to 20,160 smallholder farmers across the South-West.

The initiative, implemented under the Renewed Hope Farm Input Support Programme (FISP), is aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, improving food security, strengthening rural livelihoods and positioning agriculture as a key driver of national economic transformation.

The programme was officially flagged-off in Ado-Ekiti by the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), marking a strategic step in the federal government’s broader Renewed Hope vision to ensure food sovereignty and sustainable agricultural development across the country.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of NADF, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, said the intervention reflects the Renewed Hope Agenda’s commitment to targeted, data-driven agricultural support that directly benefits genuine farmers.

According to him, 20,160 farmers from Ekiti, Ondo, Ogun and Lagos States will benefit from the programme, with each receiving four bags of fertiliser for use in the current planting season.

He explained that the Renewed Hope Farm Input Support Programme was designed not as routine distribution, but as a structured intervention to improve farm output, increase yields and deliver measurable impact on food production.

“At the National Agricultural Development Fund, agriculture is central to the Renewed Hope Agenda because it remains one of the strongest engines of national development.

“When agriculture works, it creates jobs, strengthens rural communities, improves food supply and increases farmers’ incomes.

This programme is about ensuring that the right farmers receive the right inputs at the right time,” he said.

Ibrahim added the intervention was carefully aligned with the agricultural strengths of participating states, noting that Ekiti farmers would benefit mainly in yam, maize and tomato production, while other states were assigned priority crops based on their comparative advantages.

He stressed that the Renewed Hope Agenda demands a shift from input distribution to impact measurement, where success is determined by productivity, food availability and improved livelihoods.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, described the programme as a key pillar of the Renewed Hope strategy to ensure timely access to quality farm inputs and strengthen national food systems.

He said the federal government was intensifying collaboration with farmers’ associations to better understand challenges in the sector and deliver more responsive agricultural interventions.

“We are confident that the fertilisers being distributed under the Renewed Hope Agenda will reach the farms and significantly improve productivity. Our focus is to support farmers in ways that translate directly into increased food production,” the minister said.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State commended the federal government for selecting the state as the flag-off point for the South-West rollout of the Renewed Hope Farm Input Support Programme.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Habibat Adubiaro, the governor said the initiative aligns strongly with Ekiti State’s agricultural transformation agenda and ongoing efforts to reposition farming as a profitable enterprise.

He noted that agriculture had become a central pillar of both federal and state development strategies under the Renewed Hope framework, given its capacity to create jobs, reduce poverty and guarantee food security.

According to him, sustained collaboration between Ekiti State and the federal government under the Renewed Hope Agenda is already yielding visible improvements across agricultural value chains in the state.

The governor expressed optimism that the intervention would further accelerate the drive towards food sovereignty, rural prosperity and inclusive economic growth.

The fertiliser distribution is expected to enhance productivity among thousands of smallholder farmers during the current planting season, increase harvests, and contribute significantly to stabilising food prices across the South-West region.

Stakeholders at the event described the programme as one of the most impactful agricultural interventions under the Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that its timely implementation would strengthen food systems and improve the welfare of farmers across Nigeria