By Ngozi Nwankwo
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has unveiled cooperative reforms aimed at restructuring, digitizing, and revamping the cooperative sub-sector to improve agricultural productivity, enhance food security, reduce poverty, and ensure inclusive economic development
Speaking during the 8th National Council on Cooperative Affairs,NCCA, held in Abuja on Thursday , the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, stated that cooperatives play a pivotal role in food production, aggregation, processing and distribution, making them indispensable to Nigeria’s quest for food security and reduced import dependence.
Abdullahi said that the initiative would strengthen cooperative governance, improve access to finance and integrate farmers into structured agribusiness value chains.
The Minister revealed that the reform programme, tagged the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,RH-CRRP, is designed to modernize and commercialize cooperative ecosystem, particularly within the agricultural sector.
“The RH-CRRP framework places strong emphasis on enterprise development, including the creation of localized processing hubs, support for cooperative farming clusters and access to shared farm equipment. These interventions are expected to reduce post-harvest losses, enhance value addition and increase incomes for smallholder farmers’’
“revamping and modernizing the cooperative sector is not optional; it is urgent and non-negotiable if Nigeria must feed itself, empower its citizens and expand prosperity,’’ he said.
He added that the reform would establishment of a Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, expected to unlock affordable credit for farmers, agro-processors and rural enterprises that have long been excluded from formal financing systems.
He noted that ‘’ these measures could significantly improve productivity and traceability across agricultural value chains, while enabling cooperatives to scale operations and attract private investment’’.
According to him, ‘’the Federal government also plans to deploy a nationwide Cooperative Smart Registry and introduce a Cooperative Verification Number,CVN, to improve data management, transparency and access to financial services.
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Marcus Olaniyi Ogunbiyi, represented by the Director, Department of Planning and Policy Coordination, Mr Ibrahim Tanimu said that “cooperatives remain central to empowering farmers, youth, women and persons with Special Needs, while driving rural economic growth and agribusiness expansion,”
He emphasized that ‘’the reform programme includes capacity building for cooperative leaders, harmonized accounting standards nationwide and stronger regulatory frameworks to enhance accountability and investor confidence.
During her goodwill message, the President, Cooperative Federation of Nigeria,CFN, Mrs Hannatu Mershak stated that ‘’the cooperative movement remains one of the most powerful instruments for grassroots mobilization, poverty reduction, and economic empowerment’’.
She added that across Nigeria, ‘’cooperative societies continue to provide access to finance, enhance agricultural productivity, create employment opportunities, and strengthen community resilience. In many rural and underserved communities, cooperatives are not just economic entities they are lifelines’’.
