World Food Day 2026: Transforming Agri-Food Systems through Evidence-based Approaches and Innovations
Transforming agri-food systems require innovations and strategic programming that respond to the interconnected challenges facing actors in the agricultural sector. On this year's World Food Day, GIZ Nigeria & ECOWAS shares how transformation of agri-food systems works to make West Africa's food production, processing and trading more secure, supporting agricultural value chains from the farm to the market.
Every year on 16 October, World Food Day reminds us of a simple right: everyone should have enough safe and nutritious food. It also asks a harder question. Who grows that food, who processes it, and who can afford it? In Nigeria, these questions are close to home. Around 85% of food produced in Nigeria is produced by small-scale farmers, yet many of them struggle to feed themselves. Today we reflect on what food security means in practice and on how we work with Nigerian and regional partners to strengthen it.
The challenge of food insecurity
Nigeria's food challenge is a challenge of input supply, income and access at the same time. Between June and August 2026, an estimated 34.7 million Nigerians face crisis-level food insecurity or worse. Agriculture is the largest part of the real economy, at 26.15% of GDP in the second quarter of 2026, yet the country still depends on imports for staples it could produce itself. It spends about US$1.5 billion a year on dairy products and imported roughly 2.8 million tonnes of rice in 2025/26.
Much of the value is lost before food reaches the consumer. Less than 10% of Nigeria's roughly 350,000 tonnes of cashew is processed at home, and processed kernels sell for around 3.5 times the price a farmer receives. Where food is only grown and not processed, jobs and income go elsewhere. Climate change, high input and finance costs, trade barriers and unequal access for women make the picture harder still.
Why agri-food system transformation is needed
Addressing these challenges requires more than increasing agricultural production. Food and nutrition security depends on how food is produced, processed, traded and consumed; and on whether the people involved can earn a decent living. This calls for a transformation of agri-food systems that makes them more productive, inclusive, resilient and environmentally sustainable.
Agri-food systems transformation means looking beyond individual challenges and addressing the connections between them. Farmers need access to knowledge, inputs, finance and markets. Businesses need opportunities to invest and grow. Policies and institutions must create an enabling environment. By strengthening these interconnected elements, we can build food systems that provide nutritious and affordable food, create economic opportunities, and withstand the impacts of climate change.
GIZ Nigeria & ECOWAS approach to Food System Transformation
We believe food security is built through strengthening value chains and supporting the people who work in them. Our approach rests on three ideas.
- First, we work across levels. We bring together 13 projects in 8 countries and 21 Nigerian states, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Union, the Gates Foundation, the Global Methane Hub and AGRA. Bilateral, regional and global projects share expertise, partners, and lessons instead of working in silos.
- Second, we work with the private sector as drivers of innovation. Processors, traders and input suppliers create the jobs and markets that farmers need, so we build partnerships in which public and private actors invest together.
- Third, we work on a few value chains (including rice, dairy, cashew, ginger, tomato, cocoa, and potato) in depth, following a product from seed to shelf and strengthening what holds it back.
With these three approaches, we focus on several topics that create a basis for transformation of agri-food systems, including:
- Policy and regional trade. Food moves across borders, so rules must work across borders. We support the ECOWAS Commission and national institutions in making trade rules clearer and more predictable, so traders and processors can plan and invest.
- Climate-smart production. Farmers need evidence-based modern agricultural practices that increase yields and protect the environment. In rice, we promote practices that use water and input more efficiently and lower methane emissions, so climate actions can also benefit farmers.
- Finance. Farmers and small processors struggle to grow without credit. We work with commercial and micro-finance banks and financial institutions to develop financial products that fit the needs of farmers and agribusinesses and align with agricultural cycles, making finance well-targeted and inclusive while reaching more smaller businesses.
- Value addition. Processing keeps income and jobs in the region. We train rice millers and parboilers, and other agri-based processors and entrepreneurs to improve quality and efficiency, and link them to buyers, so that more crops are processed and sold in West Africa.
- Gender and inclusion. Women are at the heart of food production and processing, but face barriers such as access to land, finance and technology. Through networks such as Small Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON), Women in Agribusinesses, Country Women's Association of Nigeria (COWAN) and targeted training, we help women move from workers to owners and decision makers. Young people are not left out; our projects are intentional about including young people in our interventions.
- Innovation Bundling and Scaling. Rather than promoting individual solutions, we combine complementary innovations, such as good agronomic practices, business skills and climate-smart technologies and practices, into innovation bundles that address multiple challenges at once. We work with federal- and state-level institutions, extension services, research institutes and private sector partners to adapt, institutionalize and scale these innovations, ensuring that proven solutions reach more farmers and businesses and continue to deliver benefits beyond individual projects.
Conclusion
The transformation is real, despite the enormous challenge facing the agri-food systems in Nigeria and ECOWAS region, we are proud of the contributions of our projects and beneficiaries to the transformation of agri-food systems. At the core of the transformation of agri-food systems are persons who can now produce more, sell at a better price, or keep adding value to the products they create. As we mark World Food Day, we thank our Nigerian and regional partners and recommit to our shared goal: food that is grown, processed and traded close to home.
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