At the recently concluded GTR West Africa 2025 conference, AgroEknor’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Timi Oke, delivered a rousing call for bold, systemic action to address Nigeria’s escalating food security crisis.
Speaking before an audience of regional policymakers, global financiers, agribusiness leaders, and development experts, Oke emphasized that solving Nigeria’s food challenges requires more than isolated efforts, it demands an integrated, multi-sectoral approach powered by innovation, investment, and collaboration.
GTR West Africa, a premier gathering focused on trade, infrastructure, and investment across the region, provided a timely platform for conversations around agriculture and food systems, particularly as economic and climate pressures continue to intensify.
Against this backdrop, Oke’s message resonated strongly: food security is not merely a sectoral concern; it is a critical pillar for national stability, economic recovery, and regional prosperity.
Food Security: A National Imperative
In his address, Oke underscored that Nigeria’s food insecurity is a symptom of deeper, interconnected systemic issues. He pointed to rising inflation rates, which have eroded purchasing power and driven up the cost of essential goods, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income households.
At the same time, he noted that the country’s farmers, who are the backbone of local food production, continue to face tremendous hurdles, from inadequate access to affordable financing, to weak infrastructure networks that limit market access and increase post-harvest losses.
“Food security is not just an agricultural issue,” Oke said. “It is fundamentally an economic issue, a social stability issue, and a national security issue.
“When people cannot access affordable, nutritious food, every other aspect of society suffers from education outcomes to public health, from job creation to peace and security.” He warned that without urgent, strategic action, Nigeria risks deepening its already precarious food challenges, with grave implications for national development and regional stability.
Impact Investing: Catalyzing Sustainable Solutions
Central to Oke’s call for action was the role of impact investing. An investment approach that seeks to generate positive social and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns. He championed impact investing as a vital mechanism for bridging critical gaps in Nigeria’s agricultural ecosystem, particularly for smallholder farmers, agritech innovators, and food processing enterprises that often struggle to access traditional forms of capital.
“Impact investing is no longer a niche concept. It is fast becoming one of the most important tools for solving complex development challenges,” Oke asserted. “Nigeria needs more innovative funds, like Aruwa Capital Management, that intentionally deploy capital towards enterprises delivering measurable impact.”
He praised Aruwa Capital and similar funds for their leadership in financing businesses that prioritize gender inclusion, sustainability, and economic empowerment, factors that are essential to transforming agriculture into a resilient and inclusive growth sector.
Oke explained that blended capital models, where investors accept moderate financial returns in exchange for high social and environmental impact, are particularly well-suited to the agricultural sector, where returns are often long-term and influenced by externalities like climate and global market trends.
Integrated Approach: Policy, Technology, and Partnerships
Beyond financing, Oke called for a robust, integrated strategy that brings together policy reform, technological innovation, and dynamic public-private partnerships.
He urged policymakers to create an enabling environment by addressing regulatory bottlenecks, strengthening property rights (especially for rural farmers), and investing in rural infrastructure, including roads, cold storage facilities, and irrigation systems.
On the technology front, Oke highlighted the transformative potential of digital agriculture solutions, from precision farming tools to mobile-based credit systems that can dramatically increase yields, reduce risks, and improve value chain efficiencies. He emphasized that governments and private sector actors must collaborate to ensure that these technologies are accessible, affordable, and scalable.
“Partnerships are the glue that binds these solutions together,” he said. “No single actor, whether government, investor, or entrepreneur, can solve Nigeria’s food crisis alone. It will take a coordinated, sustained effort built on trust, innovation, and shared goals.”
A Broader Consensus at GTR West Africa
Oke’s remarks echoed a broader consensus emerging across sessions at GTR West Africa 2025: that food security must be treated as a cross-cutting priority, integral to Africa’s broader trade, industrialization, and climate resilience agendas.
Several speakers reinforced the idea that unlocking the full potential of West Africa’s agricultural sector, estimated to be worth billions of dollars, could dramatically reduce poverty, enhance regional trade integration, and create millions of jobs, particularly for youth and women.
However, they cautioned that realizing this potential requires not only scaling production but also transforming food systems to be more inclusive, sustainable, and climate-resilient. Impact investing, blended finance models, and catalytic public policies were cited as essential enablers in this transformation.
A Call to Action
As his session drew to a close, Timi Oke left the audience with a clear and urgent call to action.
“If we are serious about achieving food security, we must move beyond rhetoric and embrace innovation, investment, and intentional collaboration,” he said. “The opportunity is immense, but so is the cost of inaction.”
He challenged investors, policymakers, and development actors alike to think bigger, act faster, and stay committed to building resilient agricultural ecosystems that can not only feed Nigeria’s growing population but also serve as a foundation for long-term economic prosperity.
“Food security is about our future, the future of our children, our communities, and our nation. It demands nothing less than our boldest thinking and our most sustained efforts,” Oke concluded, drawing strong applause from the attendees.
As Nigeria grapples with the dual pressures of economic recovery and climate adaptation, voices like Timi Oke’s serve as a timely reminder that transformative change is possible if the right investments, partnerships, and policies are brought to bear.
