The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development [FMARD] is responsible for developing the agriculture sector of the Nigerian economy, with a view to growing the sector, driving income growth, accelerate food and nutrition security, generating employment and transforming Nigeria into a leading global food market, through the commodity value chain concept of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).
The idea is to treat agriculture as a business and not as a development program, concentrate on Value Chains where Nigeria has comparative advantage and develop strategic partnerships to stimulate investment in the country. The Ministry promotes agri-business, encourages rural development, supports private sector institutions and broadens stakeholders’ partnership to facilitate raw materials for agro – based industries, diversify agricultural products along commodity value chains and generate foreign exchange earnings for the country.