The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has cautioned opposition politicians against using the October 2026 Cadre Harmonisé food security assessment as a tool for political propaganda.
Kyari, in a statement issued on Monday, November 2, 2026 said the assessment was designed to identify food and nutrition security risks and guide early government interventions, not to serve as an election forecast. He described as misleading, claims suggesting that 33.5 million Nigerians would face food insecurity because President Bola Tinubu was re-elected in 2027.
The Minister explained that the projected figure relates to the June-August 2027 period and represents a decline from the 34.8 million projected for the corresponding period in 2026. He noted that the Cadre Harmonisé was developed by the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel, CILSS, alongside regional and technical partners, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation, (FAO), World Food Programme, (WFP), FEWS NET, UNICEF and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, (IPC).
According to him, the assessment identifies several factors responsible for food insecurity, including climate change, inconsistent rainfall, prolonged dry spells and disruptions to weather patterns associated with the Super El Niño phenomenon.
Kyari maintained that these challenges should not be attributed to the continuation of any particular political administration, stressing that food insecurity is a longstanding structural problem that predates the present government. He said the Federal Government, under President Tinubu, was responding through expanded access to fertiliser and other agricultural inputs, increased mechanisation, irrigation and dry-season farming, improved agricultural financing, storage facilities and climate-resilient farming practices.
The Minister also highlighted improved security in some farming communities, which he said had enabled farmers who previously could not access their farmlands to resume agricultural activities. He specifically cited Marte and Guzamala Local Government Areas of Borno State, which were previously inaccessible to data collectors but have experienced improved stability, allowing the latest assessment to cover the areas.
Kyari further listed progress in fertiliser distribution and local blending, support for smallholder farmers, mechanisation partnerships, dry-season production and agricultural financing through the Bank of Agriculture. While acknowledging that the interventions would not resolve all food security challenges immediately, he insisted that the administration was making significant progress in strengthening agricultural production and the nation’s food supply.
The Minister urged political actors to exercise caution and responsibility when interpreting food security data, warning against reducing the welfare and livelihoods of millions of Nigerians to political talking points. He, however, welcomed constructive criticism and scrutiny, but maintained that deliberately misrepresenting technical assessments for electoral purposes was unacceptable.
Kyari reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to using the Cadre Harmonisé findings to strengthen agricultural interventions, support farmers, protect livelihoods and improve access to safe, nutritious and affordable food.
