World Food Day: Lagos Promises Sustainable, Resilient Food System
Lagos State government said it remains committed to consistently building sustainable platforms that will promote a resilient food system.
This declaration comes as part of preparations for the 2025 World Food Day which will be marked globally on Thursday October 16th.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems kicked off the celebration with a Road Walk on Wednesday, 8th October, 2025, which would be followed by the Lagos Agric Scholars Quiz competition on Tuesday 14th of October at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium and later the grand finale on the 16th of October, 2025 at the Police College Parade Ground, Ikeja.
Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya said the road walk was meant to create awareness and sensitise residents about the agricultural potential of the state and to galvanise support of the residents to further develop the sector.
According to her “People don’t see Lagos as an Agrarian state, but I want to believe that under the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, even across Nigeria, Lagos has been very efficient in Agriculture, probably we will be in the same category as Niger state, and so, we want to continue to push that agenda for people to know that the state is an agrarian state, but it may just be in a different form and manner. We also want to encourage the younger generation to take ownership of the Agric space and celebrate our stakeholders in the Agriculture space who have put efforts to ensure we have food on our tables.”
Speaking earlier at a press conference, Olusanya said the global event is a reminder of the need for collective action against hunger and malnutrition.
She mentioned that this year’s theme, “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future,” emphasises the urgent need for partnerships across governments, private sector, development organisations, and communities to transform agro food systems and promote healthy diets.
The Commissioner stressed that the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has in the past years invested in the development of the Agric ecosystem to ensure optimal exploration of the available resources in the state, including the protection of the mass land for Agricultural utilisation.
“People tend to see more value using Lagos land for real estate than food farming and such competition is affecting the state’s food security. However, what Mr Governor has done is to earmark specific areas within specific zones in Lagos for Agriculture” she said
Despite being the smallest State in terms of land, Lagos remains the most densely populated State in Nigeria and feeding the population, according to Olusanya requires innovative strategies, bold investments, and strong partnerships.
She said since 2021 when the state launched a 5-year Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap, targeting 40% food self-sufficiency by 2025, it has activated numerous transformative intervention programmes geared to scale up food production, reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen market linkages, and empower farmers and youth in the state.
She highlighted some of the intervention programmes and projects to include the Implementation of the Food Systems Transformation Agenda among which focuses on establishing the Lagos Central Food Security Systems and Logistics Hub, Mid-Level Agroproduce Hubs, and Last-Mile Food Distribution Outlets, Produce for Lagos Programme, Eko Agro Mechanization Programme (EKO AGROMECS), Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (LAP), among others.
On the fluctuating prices of foodstuffs in the state, the Commissioner attributed the development to irregular rainfalls which she tied around climate change.
She mentioned that price points have been dropping in the last few weeks, but may not be at the expected rate, stressing for continuous support with the state government to address the artificial increase in food prices.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on Agriculture and Food Systems, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola, who gave an insight into the rice production and availability in the state said that Lagos is currently cultivating rice and partnering with other stakeholders towards ensuring food sufficiency.
Press Unit
Ministry of Agriculture & Food Systems
8/10/2025
