Nigeria's Journey to Food Self-Sufficiency: Past, Present, and Future examines one of the most pressing development challenges facing Africa's most populous nation: how to sustainably feed a rapidly growing population while preserving natural resources and strengthening economic resilience. With Nigeria's population projected to approach 400 million by 2050, food demand is expected to more than double, placing unprecedented pressure on agricultural systems, foreign exchange reserves, and national food security. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of Nigeria's agricultural development from independence to the present day, examining historical policies, production trends, food import dependence, and the structural constraints that continue to limit agricultural productivity. Particular attention is given to major staple cereals—maize, rice, sorghum, millet, and wheat—which form the foundation of national food security. Using data from FAOSTAT, the Global Yield Gap Atlas, the National Bureau of Statistics, and other international databases, the book quantifies yield gaps, self-sufficiency ratios, land-use efficiency, and future production potentials. It demonstrates that Nigeria currently achieves only 30–40 percent of attainable yields for most cereals and shows how closing these yield gaps could more than triple national food production without expanding agricultural land. A major contribution of the book is the development of a National Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Program (SAIP) framework. The framework proposes practical pathways for increasing productivity through climate-resilient seeds, precision nutrient management, mechanization, irrigation, extension services, land harmonization, digital agriculture, and improved market integration. The analysis further explores the economic implications of agricultural transformation, including reductions in food imports, foreign exchange savings, job creation, poverty reduction, and climate resilience. Combining rigorous quantitative analysis with policy-oriented recommendations, the book offers a blueprint for achieving food self-sufficiency in Nigeria while contributing to broader debates on sustainable agricultural development in Africa. It will be of interest to researchers, policymakers, development practitioners, agricultural economists, students, international development organizations, and investors seeking evidence-based solutions to food security challenges in developing countries.

Mubarak Mahmud, PhD, is aresearcher specializing in ecology, agroecology, sustainable agriculture, climate change, land-use dynamics, and agricultural productivity. He holds a PhD in Ecology from Université Paris-Saclay and a Master’s degree in Climate, Land Use and Ecosystem Services from AgroParisTech, where his academic work in global agronomy provided the foundation for the present book.

He has conducted research at the interface of agriculture, ecosystems, and climate change, with particular interests in sustainable intensification, nitrogen use efficiency, agroforestry, greenhouse-gas emissions, yield-gap analysis, and data-driven approaches to agricultural and environmental management. His research combines field experimentation, statistical analysis, remote sensing, and modelling to address challenges related to food production and environmental sustainability.

Mubarak has worked with the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), where his research has focused on nitrogen use efficiency and sustainable agricultural systems. His academic and professional experience also includes collaboration with researchers and institutions working on agroecology, climate adaptation, land management, and food security.

Through this book, he brings together his academic training, research experience, and long-standing interest in Nigeria’s agricultural development to examine the country’s pathway toward food self-sufficiency. His work emphasizes evidence-based policy, improved agricultural productivity, sustainable land use, and the closing of yield gaps as key strategies for building a resilient and food-secure Nigeria.