Nestle Nigeria invests $1m in regenerative agriculture

Nestlé Nigeria, in collaboration with AGRA and TechnoServe, has announced a $1 million investment to drive regenerative agriculture and climate-smart grain production in Kaduna and Nasarawa States. The initiative, which runs from June 2024 to October 2027, will benefit 25,000 smallholder farmers and eight aggregators, targeting key staples including maize, soybean, rice, and sorghum.

At the project launch in Zaria, Nestlé Nigeria’s CEO, Wassim Elhusseini, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to decarbonising its supply chain and sourcing ingredients sustainably. The company aims to achieve 50% regenerative sourcing globally by 2030. The local investment, according to Elhusseini, reflects a “holistic approach” to environmental and social priorities.

The project, branded as StreFaS (Climate-Smart Grain Production and Accessing the Structured Markets), is designed to transform agricultural systems by improving yields, enhancing soil health, and building farmer resilience. TechnoServe’s Nigeria Country Director, Adesuwa Akinboro, emphasized the initiative’s role in restoring dignity to farming and increasing access to structured markets, while AGRA’s Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Rufus Idris, highlighted its alignment with AGRA’s food system transformation agenda.

Kaduna State Commissioner for Agriculture, Murtala Muhammad Dabo, praised the effort as a forward-thinking response to the climate crisis, calling for sustained partnerships to ensure agricultural resilience in the state. A participating farmer, Engineer Lawan Abdul, reported a 100% increase in yield after applying the introduced farming techniques.
Source- Guardian

Expert Review for Agri-Food Stakeholders
The Nestlé–AGRA–TechnoServe partnership is a notable example of private-sector-led support for climate-resilient agriculture in Nigeria. Below are the strategic insights and implications for stakeholders:

1. Private Sector as a Climate Catalyst
   Nestlé’s $1 million investment reaffirms the role of multinationals in advancing climate action within local value chains. Stakeholders in Nigeria’s agri-food system—including SMEs, cooperatives, and government institutions—should explore co-investment opportunities and adopt similar regenerative practices.
2. Integrated Market Access
   By embedding structured markets into the project’s design, StreFaS reduces market volatility and post-harvest losses—two major bottlenecks for smallholder farmers. Agri-entrepreneurs can leverage this ecosystem to build aggregation and processing enterprises with guaranteed off-take.
   
3. Evidence-Based Results
   With farmers like Engineer Abdul already reporting yield improvements of 100%, the project demonstrates the tangible impact of training, input support, and climate-smart practices. Scaling such success requires policy alignment and broader farmer adoption beyond Kaduna and Nasarawa.
4. Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Model
   The programme illustrates a practical, scalable collaboration between the private sector, development institutions, and subnational governments. Local governments and state ministries should emulate this model to drive systemic transformation.
5. Focus on Regenerative Farming
   Regenerative agriculture is gaining traction globally for its dual promise of productivity and ecosystem restoration. This initiative positions Nigeria as a potential leader in Africa’s regenerative farming space if scaled and sustained.

Conclusion
This partnership marks a critical step in mainstreaming regenerative agriculture in Nigeria’s food system. Stakeholders—from farmer groups to agritech firms—must seize this opportunity to align their operations with climate-smart principles and plug into structured markets that reward sustainability.