By Ngozi Nwankwo
Nigeria and Thailand have signed new agreements on agriculture, cooperatives and innovation to support the implementation of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, RH-CRRP 2030.
The agreements were signed recently during a high-level engagement in Lagos themed “Building Sustainable Partnerships: Connecting Youth, Innovation and Business between Thailand and Nigeria.”
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said the signing marks the transition of RH-CRRP 2030 from policy formulation to practical implementation.
Nigerian Pilot gathered that the agreements include a Record of Discussions involving the Thailand International Cooperation Agency, TICA, Kasetsart University and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji-River, Enugu, and a Memorandum of Understanding between Kasetsart University and the Federal Cooperative College.
“Today, we have not merely witnessed the signing of documents; we have witnessed the strengthening of a partnership founded on knowledge, capacity development, innovation and shared prosperity,” Abdullahi said.
The Minister said the partnership directly supports Pillar 2 of RH-CRRP 2030, which focuses on institutional strengthening, professionalisation and capacity building.
“We cannot build strong and sustainable cooperatives without strong institutions and well-trained people,” he said.
He noted that the reform emphasises developing the knowledge, professional competence and leadership capacity of cooperative leaders, managers, regulators and members.
Abdullahi referenced an earlier milestone on August 12, 2026, in Abuja, where the Ministry, the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, CFN, and Seamfix Limited signed an MoU on the Cooperative Digitalisation pillar of the reform.
“This demonstrates that RH-CRRP 2030 is moving beyond policy formulation towards implementation, institutional action and measurable impact,” he added.
Linking the partnership to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the Minister said the administration is repositioning cooperatives as instruments for agricultural transformation, enterprise development, job creation, financial inclusion and sustainable livelihoods.
