Atser said agricultural innovations would have little impact if they remained within research institutes without effective systems for taking them to farmers, particularly smallholder producers who form the backbone of food production in the country.
He spoke with journalists on the sidelines of the ongoing 2026 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Kigali, Rwanda, where agricultural stakeholders from across the continent are discussing strategies for transforming Africa’s food systems.
According to Atser, the forum provides an important platform for organisations, governments, researchers and development partners to share experiences, examine emerging solutions and build partnerships that can translate agricultural innovations into practical benefits for farmers.
“This year’s meeting is quite significant for us. We have come here to listen and also to share knowledge with other actors in the agriculture sector,” Atser said.
He explained that SAA was using its participation in the forum to identify successful approaches that could be adapted to Nigeria’s agricultural environment.
He said some of the innovations and interventions being presented by other organisations could offer useful lessons for Nigeria, particularly as the country seeks to increase productivity, improve farmers’ incomes and make its food systems more resilient to climate and economic pressures.
From research laboratories to farmers’ fields
Atser said one of the major concerns confronting Nigeria’s agricultural sector was the difficulty of ensuring that technologies and innovations developed by research institutions were adopted widely by farmers.
He argued that government investment should not stop at funding research but should extend to the systems required to deliver research outcomes to farmers in accessible and practical forms.
“I think we need to see how the government puts resources in extension so that available innovations and technologies that have been developed in the research institutes in the country can actually reach the farmer,” he said.
He noted that effective agricultural extension services could help farmers understand and adopt improved technologies, including better seed varieties, climate-smart production methods and other innovations capable of raising yields and strengthening resilience.
Atser said digital technology could also play an increasingly important role in expanding the reach of extension services, particularly in a country where millions of smallholder farmers require timely information on production, markets, weather and other issues affecting their livelihoods.
He stressed that a stronger link between researchers, extension personnel and farmers would be essential if Nigeria was to derive the full benefits of investments already being made in agricultural research.
SAA expands focus on climate resilience, markets
Atser said SAA’s programmes in Nigeria currently cover a broad range of interventions designed to improve productivity while making agriculture more sustainable and inclusive.
These include regenerative agriculture, market-oriented agriculture, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, capacity building, digital extension and inclusion.
The organisation is also intensifying efforts to promote improved seed varieties, climate-smart agricultural practices, youth participation and livestock development.
The approach, he explained, reflects the changing realities facing farmers, who must contend with climate-related challenges, limited access to quality inputs, weak market linkages and inadequate agricultural advisory services.
He said promoting regenerative and climate-smart practices would help farmers improve productivity while protecting the natural resources on which agriculture depends.
At the same time, market-oriented agriculture could help producers move beyond subsistence farming by connecting production more effectively to consumer demand and profitable markets.
Partnerships key to scaling agricultural interventions
The SAA country director said partnerships would be crucial to expanding the organisation’s impact in Nigeria.
He disclosed that SAA had been engaging governments, research institutions and development partners to explore opportunities for extending its programmes to more farmers and communities.
Among the engagements, he said, were discussions with the Jigawa State Government on expanding SAA’s agricultural interventions in the state.
Atser also identified the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), alongside potential collaborations involving Somalia and Senegal, as areas of interest for strengthening and expanding the organisation’s programmes.
He said support from the Nippon Foundation remained an important source of funding for SAA’s activities across Africa.
However, he emphasised that donor support alone would not be sufficient to achieve large-scale transformation, stressing the need for stronger collaboration with state governments and other institutions.
Such partnerships, he said, could provide the resources, policy support, technical capacity and local structures required to move successful agricultural interventions beyond individual projects and into wider adoption.
Africa still faces food security challenge
Turning to Africa’s broader food systems agenda, Atser acknowledged that the continent had recorded progress over the past two decades but said significant challenges remained in the fight against hunger and food insecurity.
He called on African governments to strengthen their financial commitment to agriculture, noting that only a small number of countries had met the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) target of allocating 10 per cent of national budgets to agriculture.
He said Nigeria, despite having recorded notable progress at different periods, needed to regain momentum and accelerate the pace of agricultural development.
“In Nigeria, for instance, we had made progress before, but at some point, that progress we made either stagnated, or we were not moving at the rate we were supposed to be,” he said.
For Atser, increasing agricultural spending must also involve ensuring that resources are directed towards areas capable of delivering tangible benefits to producers.
This includes research and development, extension services, farmer training, digital advisory platforms, improved seeds, climate-smart technologies and systems that connect farmers with markets.
Youth and digital agriculture
Atser further called for greater investment in young people as part of efforts to build a modern and sustainable agricultural sector.
He said Nigeria and other African countries needed to create stronger opportunities for youth participation in agriculture, particularly by leveraging digital technologies and new business models emerging across the sector.
He also emphasised the importance of making digital agricultural services accessible to smallholder farmers, who often face difficulties obtaining timely technical and market information.
According to him, farmers operate under different conditions and therefore require information and advisory services tailored to their particular production systems and needs.
Ensuring that farmers can access relevant knowledge, technologies and support, he said, would be critical to building food systems that are not only productive but also resilient and inclusive.
As African countries seek to transform their food systems, Atser's message is that investment must go beyond producing agricultural knowledge and technologies. The real test, he suggested, is whether those innovations can make their way from research institutions to the farms where they are needed — and ultimately improve the productivity and livelihoods of the people producing the continent's food.