ACCI Agriculture Vice President Calls for ‘Operation No Idle Land’, Food Production Emergency

Oru Leonard 

The Vice President, Agriculture, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Olasetemi Bode Thompson, has called on the Federal Government to introduce a national policy on productive land use and declare a State of Emergency for Food Production.

Thompson made the call in an open letter dated September 1, 2026, addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in which he proposed an initiative he described as “Operation No Idle Land.”

He said the initiative would provide a coordinated national framework to encourage the productive utilisation of land for agriculture, agribusiness, agro-processing, industry and other approved economic activities.

According to him, the proposal is informed by agricultural study and farm visits he undertook in the United States, Canada, Israel and several European countries following his appointment as Vice President, Agriculture, of ACCI in December 2023.

He said the experiences exposed him to the importance of agricultural innovation, mechanisation, efficient land utilisation and value-chain integration, reinforcing his belief that Nigeria has the land, human resources and natural endowments required to become one of the world’s leading agricultural economies.

Thompson, however, stressed that land alone could not create agricultural prosperity without adequate finance, infrastructure, technology, security, markets and an enabling policy environment.

He said significant portions of potentially productive land remained underutilised or idle at a time when millions of Nigerians were seeking employment and households were facing challenges with food affordability.

Under the proposed Operation No Idle Land, he recommended that landowners be encouraged and supported to put their land to productive use or lease underutilised land to farmers, cooperatives, investors and companies capable of developing it.

He also proposed organised schemes and cooperatives that would aggregate land, capital, technology and market access.
However, he cautioned that any government intervention concerning abandoned or unlawfully held land must comply with constitutional and statutory provisions, protect legitimate property rights and guarantee due process.
“The objective must remain productive utilization, not indiscriminate confiscation,” he stated.

 

Thompson further called for the declaration of a State of Emergency for Food Production, backed by a measurable and time-bound national action plan.

He said such an intervention should bring together the Federal, State and Local Governments, private investors, farmers, financial institutions, research institutions and development partners to increase domestic food production and strengthen national food security.

Priority areas, according to him, should include affordable agricultural finance, irrigation and water management, mechanisation, improved seeds and other farm inputs, extension services, research and technology, rural roads, storage and processing infrastructure.

He also identified security for farming communities and investments, agricultural value chains, agro-processing clusters, sustainable market access and greater private-sector participation as critical areas requiring urgent attention.

To drive the initiative, Thompson proposed a National Land Audit and Mapping programme through which government, in collaboration with states and relevant institutions, would digitally map agricultural and other economically productive lands.

He said the exercise would help identify underutilised land and guide investment and development planning.

He also proposed the establishment of land banks and agricultural clusters, incentives for landowners who voluntarily put their land into productive use, and deliberate programmes to provide young Nigerians and women with access to land, finance, technology, training and markets.

Public-private partnerships, he added, should be encouraged to attract investors, financial institutions, technology companies, agribusinesses and development partners into large-scale food production and agro-processing.

Thompson further called for a transparent monitoring and accountability mechanism with measurable indicators, including hectares cultivated, food output, jobs created, investments attracted and reductions in post-harvest losses.

He cited lessons from countries including the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, noting that their experiences demonstrated the importance of innovation, research, technology, logistics, cooperative farming, infrastructure, spatial planning and strong connections between agriculture and industry.
“The lesson for Nigeria is clear: land alone does not create agricultural prosperity. Productive land, supported by technology, finance, infrastructure, knowledge, security and markets, does,” he said.

According to him, successful implementation of Operation No Idle Land could create millions of jobs across farming, processing, logistics, storage and distribution while improving food security, reducing food imports and conserving foreign exchange.

He added that the initiative could stimulate rural development, strengthen national security, promote agro-industrialisation and increase Nigeria’s agricultural export potential.

 

Thompson urged President Tinubu to convene a National Stakeholders’ Summit on Productive Land Use and Food Security involving the Federal and State Governments, National Assembly, traditional institutions, farmers’ organisations, organised private sector, financial institutions, research institutions and development partners.

He said ACCI remained committed to supporting initiatives that promote investment, enterprise development, food security and sustainable economic growth.

He maintained that Nigeria could no longer afford to have potentially productive land lying idle while millions of Nigerians remained unemployed and households struggled with food affordability.
“Let us turn idle land into productive assets, agricultural potential into economic power, and our youthful population into a productive workforce,” he urged.

Thompson said Operation No Idle Land could become a national call to action under which every productive hectare would contribute to feeding Nigerians, creating employment and strengthening the national economy.