The Senate has passed for third reading a bill to establish a Federal College of Agriculture in Shani Local Government Area of Borno State, ThisDay reported on October 16, 2026. The bill was sponsored by Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South.
The Senate passed the bill on Thursday after adopting the report of its Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions, the News Agency of Nigeria reported. It now goes to the House of Representatives for concurrence and then to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
What the College Would Do
The college would promote agricultural education, improve farming techniques and help farmers adopt modern technologies to raise food production, according to ThisDay. It would also serve as a centre where farmers can access better crop varieties and training to improve yields.
"One of the fundamental challenges facing agriculture in Nigeria is our continued reliance on crude farming methods," Ndume said, NAN reported. He described the bill as personal: "I consider it one of my lifetime achievements in the National Assembly."
Why Shani
Ndume said Shani is "known for agriculture, particularly the cultivation of rice, tomatoes and onions," ThisDay reported. NAN noted that the area borders Adamawa and Bauchi states. Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended the committee and the sponsor and said the institution would promote agricultural development in Nigeria, according to NAN.
The Training Gap
The bill comes as the federal government says farmer advisory services are badly stretched. Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari said on September 30, 2026 that one extension agent now serves between 5,000 and 10,000 farmers in some areas, against a ratio of one agent to between 1,000 and 1,500 farm families under the World Bank-supported Agricultural Development Programmes, Extractive 360 reported. "No field officer, however committed, can meaningfully serve that number through physical visits alone," he said.
At the same event, the Director of the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension said the government was working with stakeholders to pass an Agricultural Extension Bill aimed at ending fragmented extension services, the same report said.
Borno is also at the centre of Nigeria's farm security crisis. Insurgent attacks have repeatedly kept farmers away from their fields in parts of the state, including Marte, where 15 farmers were killed in an attack between September 30 and October 1, 2026, Vanguard reported.
FoodPrices Nigeria tracks rice and tomato prices across Lagos markets, both crops that Shani's farmers grow for national supply. FoodPrices Nigeria will monitor whether the bill, if signed into law, raises output from the region.
Editor Notes (do not publish): Neither ThisDay nor NAN gives a bill number or the exact date. Both say "Thursday", which would be October 15, 2026, so I wrote "Thursday" only. The Marte attack date range comes from AP and Legit.ng reporting covered in the October 14 batch; the linked Vanguard article confirms the 15 deaths. Quotes came through a page summary tool, so check them word for word.