Southern Nigeria is losing between 30 to 40 meters of land to coastal erosion every year, a crisis that demands urgent intervention, Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has warned.

The minister disclosed this in a recent statement by the Director of Media and Corporate Communications at the National Space Research and Development Agency, Dr. Felix Ale.

Speaking at the Commonwealth Roundtable on Climate Finance and Food Security in London, Nnaji highlighted the devastating effects of climate change on Nigeria’s landscape.

“With desertification advancing at 0.6 kilometres per year in northern Nigeria and coastal erosion eating up 30-40 meters of land annually in the south, the stakes have never been higher,” he stated.

The minister underscored the urgency of addressing these environmental challenges, which are exacerbating food insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation.

“We cannot afford to let climate inaction dictate our food security future,” he said, calling for global commitment to integrating science, technology, and sustainable finance to combat these threats.

Nigeria is implementing various climate-smart initiatives under the Nigeria Living Lands Initiative to tackle environmental degradation while enhancing agricultural productivity.

Some of the key interventions include integrated climate-smart agriculture and land restoration, which targets the restoration of 50,000 hectares of degraded land while generating between $2,000 and $3,000 per hectare in farmer income.

Climate-smart greenhouses are being established to enable year-round crop production, ensuring food stability despite changing weather patterns.

The government is also promoting bamboo value chain development to support eco-friendly construction and sustainable livelihoods through bamboo cultivation.

Other initiatives include the methanol fuel production and clean cooking programme, which expands the adoption of low-pressure compressed natural gas to replace biomass and fossil fuel dependency, a problem affecting 90 percent of Nigerian households.

Additionally, an integrated biodigester network is being developed to transform organic waste into biogas and fertilisers, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 300,000 tonnes annually while providing clean energy to over 10,000 households.

The minister further emphasised the need for climate finance to drive these projects, outlining Nigeria’s strategy to secure funding through green bonds and climate resilience funds, building on the country’s previous green bond issuances in 2017 and 2019.

Public-private partnerships are being encouraged to drive private sector investment in agricultural value chains, energy-efficient food processing, and sustainable infrastructure.

Nigeria is also leveraging the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub to unlock global climate finance for resilience projects.

“Climate finance is a catalyst for sustainable land use and national development,” Nnaji stressed, urging Commonwealth nations to streamline access to international funding for climate adaptation projects.

He said under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria is aligning its policies with global sustainability goals.

Executive Order No. 5 provides a national framework to accelerate technology adoption in agriculture, energy, and industry for climate adaptation. It also strengthens inter-ministerial collaboration to enhance resource mobilisation and policy execution while prioritising sustainable food systems in national planning and international partnerships.

Nnaji also proposed stronger Commonwealth collaboration, calling for the establishment of a Commonwealth Centre for Climate-Smart Agriculture, simplified climate finance access, and increased youth and women empowerment in agritech innovation.

“This is a shared responsibility,” he declared. “We must rise to the challenge and move forward together.”

As the Commonwealth shapes the future of sustainable development, Nigeria is positioning itself as a leader in climate innovation.

“Together, we can build a climate-resilient, food-secure, and prosperous future for all,” Nnaji added.