The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has proposed a coordinated national audit and mapping of agricultural land as part of measures to boost food production, create jobs and strengthen Nigeria’s food security. The Chamber also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to adopt an “Operation No Idle Land” initiative and declare a State of Emergency for Food Production to accelerate the productive use of underutilised agricultural land across the country.
The proposal was contained in an open letter to the President by Olasetemi Bode Thompson, Vice President, Agriculture, ACCI, dated September 1, 2026. Thompson said Nigeria’s challenge was no longer simply the availability of land but the effective utilisation of its agricultural potential, supported by finance, infrastructure, technology, security and access to markets.
He said the proposed land audit should be undertaken by the Federal Government in collaboration with state governments and relevant institutions to identify underutilised agricultural and economically productive land and guide investment and development planning. “Government should undertake a coordinated digital audit and mapping of agricultural and other economically productive lands in collaboration with State Governments and relevant institutions to identify underutilized land and guide investment and development planning,” he said.
Under the proposed Operation No Idle Land framework, the Chamber said landowners should be encouraged and supported to put their land to productive use through agriculture, agribusiness, agro-processing, industry or other approved economic activities. It also proposed that owners of underutilised land should be able to lease such land to farmers, cooperatives, investors or companies capable of developing it productively.
Thompson, who was appointed Vice President, Agriculture, of ACCI in December 2023, said his visits to agricultural systems in the United States, Canada, Israel and several European countries reinforced his belief that Nigeria had the land, human resources and natural endowments required to become