The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, working with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is marking the 2026 World Food Day under the theme "Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow", according to the ministry's programme. "This year's edition marks the 81st Anniversary of FAO's founding and the 46th observance of the celebration in Nigeria," the ministry's Permanent Secretary, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, said on the ministry's event page.
World Food Day is observed every October 16 to commemorate the founding of the FAO in 1945, the News Agency of Nigeria noted.
Federal Programme in Abuja
The ministry's two-day schedule opened on Thursday, October 15, 2026 with visits to cluster farms, selected secondary school farmers and internally displaced persons within the Federal Capital Territory, alongside a mechanisation clinic. Friday's programme lists a sensitisation walk from the ministry's complex in Area 11, Garki to Millennium Park in the Central Business Area, followed by a ministerial press briefing at 2:00 pm, according to the ministry.
Lagos Expects 3,500 Stakeholders
In Lagos, the State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems said about 3,500 value-chain stakeholders would take part and showcase produce and equipment, NAN reported. Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Agriculture, announced the programme at a news conference on October 6, 2026.
The Lagos events included a road walk on October 8, 2026 from JJT Park, and the Lagos Agric Scholars Quiz Competition on October 14, 2026 at the Fresh Food Hub, Idi-Oro, Mushin. The grand finale is scheduled for October 16, 2026 at the Ikeja Police College Parade Ground, with Sanwo-Olu as Special Guest of Honour.
"The food security we desire tomorrow will ultimately depend on the innovations we promote," Fashola said, according to NAN. He listed the state's priorities as raising productivity, cutting post-harvest losses, improving processing and storage, strengthening food distribution and expanding market access for farmers.
The Food Security Backdrop
The observance comes as food costs remain a pressure point for Lagos households. NBS data released on October 15, 2026 showed Lagos with the highest year-on-year food inflation of any state, at 34.40%, against a national rate of 19.59%, Vanguard reported.
Nationally, the FAO projected that about 34.7 million Nigerians could face severe food insecurity during the June to August 2026 lean season, based on its October 2025 Cadre Harmonisé analysis, Nairametrics reported on January 10, 2026.
On the innovation theme, Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari said on September 30, 2026 that more than 100,000 farmers in six states were receiving weekly climate advisory text messages through the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and private partners, Extractive 360 reported.
FoodPrices Nigeria tracks verified food prices across Lagos markets, offering a running measure of whether the state's food systems agenda reaches the prices households pay.
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