By Chinedu Echianu
Nigeria’s struggle with food insecurity has pushed prices higher and increased dependence on imported food.
Rising insecurity has also made the situation worse, with banditry and insurgency disrupting farming in many northern food-producing areas.
Against this backdrop, CSS Integrated Farms, a private agribusiness venture, says it is helping to close the gap in Nigeria’s drive for food self-sufficiency.
The farm, located along the Abuja–Keffi Road in Nasarawa State, has commissioned a new egg hatchery and a soap factory.
The expansion is aimed at improving food supply, creating jobs and strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
Speaking at the commissioning, the chairman of CSS Integrated Farms, Prof John Kennedy Opara, said the project was designed to tackle food shortages and insecurity by creating sustainable employment, especially for young people.
He said the company currently employs more than 1,450 workers and has trained over 8,000 unemployed youths across several states.
According to Prof Opara, job creation and economic empowerment are key to addressing insecurity in the country. He said many trainees have gone on to set up their own poultry farms and small businesses.
He cited examples from Bauchi, Oyo and Cross River states, where beneficiaries are now self-reliant and contributing to local economies.
The new egg hatchery, he said, will help ease the shortage of chicks and point-of-lay birds, a problem that has forced many poultry farmers to source inputs from far away.
The facility is expected to serve the Federal Capital Territory, neighbouring states and other parts of the country, while opening up more opportunities for youth participation in agribusiness.
“For me, life is not about how much money you have, but about the impact you make,” Prof Opara said, describing the project as his contribution to supporting government efforts and promoting sustainable food production.
Former Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma, who attended the event as a special guest, described the CSS Group as a key building block for Nigeria, the wider ECOWAS region and Africa.
He said the combination of skills training, management capacity and agricultural value-chain integration on display was what Africa needs to tackle unemployment and food insecurity.
Mr Koroma, who was president between 2007 and 2018, called for stronger regional collaboration and urged CSS Integrated Farms to extend its training and expertise to other African countries.
He also praised the company’s zero-waste approach, noting that by-products are converted into useful outputs, creating a more sustainable business model.
Ghana’s representative to the United Nations, Philbert Johnson, described the project as an example of how industrialisation can work in Africa.
He called on governments, institutions and private individuals to support initiatives that combine vision with practical execution to create jobs and drive development.
The commissioning of the egg hatchery and soap factory marks a major expansion for CSS Integrated Farms, underlining its growing role in agricultural development, youth empowerment and sustainable economic growth in Nigeria.
