At the United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa, Nigeria, and other African nations have renewed calls for urgent global collaboration to address rising food insecurity Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing Nigeria, emphasized the country’s shift towards leveraging cutting-edge technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), geospatial analytics, and satellite-driven climate intelligence, to enhance agricultural productivity and ensure food sufficiency.
Speaking at the summit, VP Shettima stated that Nigeria is scaling its agricultural interventions through digital innovations to monitor production, minimize waste, and connect farmers to markets. He stressed that food insecurity is no longer a distant problem but a shared crisis that requires collective action.
> “Africa must rise with shared determination. A broken food system anywhere diminishes humanity everywhere,” Shettima said, urging African leaders to embrace technological tools in building sustainable food systems.
The Nigerian government, he explained, has declared a national emergency on food security, backed by strategic initiatives like the Presidential Initiative on Food Security, focusing on increasing the cultivation of rice, maize, cassava, and wheat. Furthermore, Nigeria is investing in Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) in collaboration with the African Development Bank and IFAD to drive agro-industrialization, create jobs, and link rural farmers to global markets.
The summit also saw strong messages from Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who underscored the need for predictable concession financing to support Africa’s agricultural transformation. He linked food insecurity directly to environmental degradation, calling for climate financing to align with food system reforms.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a recorded message, highlighted that food systems transcend food security, touching on issues of justice, climate change, and human rights. He noted progress since the 2021 summit but warned that global hunger continues to rise due to conflicts and economic shocks.
The summit concluded with a shared call to action: African nations must innovate, collaborate, and act decisively to transform food systems that are inclusive, resilient, and just.
