Nigeria and Spain are considering ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation in agriculture, with a focus on technology transfer, food production, livestock development and investment.
This followed a meeting between Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, and Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas Puchades, recently in Madrid.
Planas, who congratulated Ikpeazu on his appointment as Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain and his presentation of Letters of Credence to King Felipe VI, said Ikpeazu’s assumption of duty would provide an opportunity to further strengthen existing relations between Nigeria and Spain, particularly in agro-food production, animal health and irrigation.
He highlighted Spain’s experience in crop disease prevention and the development of improved, high-yielding seedlings, which he said had contributed to increased agricultural and livestock production.
Planas also identified Nigeria’s large expanse of arable land as an opportunity for increased food production and development of agricultural value chains.
According to him, Spain’s use of improved seedlings, food preservation policies and consumption strategies has contributed to its agricultural performance, while technology helped reduce food losses by 20 per cent in 2025.
Ikpeazu said agriculture remained a major priority of the Nigerian government, particularly because of the country’s large youth population and the employment opportunities available across the agricultural value chain.
He said increased agricultural production could strengthen food security, create jobs and contribute to efforts to address irregular migration.
The ambassador expressed Nigeria’s interest in learning from Spain’s experience in improved seed production, livestock development and food preservation, while encouraging greater Spanish investment in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
He also said Nigeria was interested in expanding animal production for domestic consumption and export, and called for collaboration with Spain in the sector.