InvestJigawa Takes Jigawa’s Agribusiness Story to the World Stage at Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali

Jigawa State’s investment promotion agency joined Governor Umar Namadi’s delegation at the continent’s premier agriculture investment gathering, spotlighting the state’s leadership in sesame, hibiscus, and rice.

InvestJigawa, the state’s investment promotion agency, was part of the official Jigawa State delegation at the 20th Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF), held in Kigali, Rwanda from 31 August to 4 September 2026. The delegation was led by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Jigawa State, Malam Umar A. Namadi, with the Director General of InvestJigawa, Hajiya Aisha Sheikh Mujaddadi, representing the agency.

Now in its 20th year and hosted by the Government of Rwanda, AFSF is widely regarded as the world’s premier forum for African agriculture and food systems, drawing more than 5,000 delegates — heads of state, investors, agribusiness leaders, and development partners — from across the continent and beyond. This year’s edition carried the theme “Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience,” reflecting a continent-wide push to convert agricultural pledges into signed, bankable investments.

For InvestJigawa, the Forum was an opportunity to put Jigawa’s Agriculture and Agribusiness priority sector directly in front of the investors, processors, and development institutions shaping Africa’s food future.

Why Jigawa, why now

Jigawa State is one of Nigeria’s leading agricultural producers, responsible for approximately 80% of the country’s hibiscus output and roughly 40% of its sesame production, alongside standing as Nigeria’s second-largest rice producer at over 2.1 million metric tons a year. The state’s Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme offers 25,000 hectares of gravity-fed, zero-pumping-cost irrigation — with 19,000 hectares still open for investment — positioning Jigawa as one of the few places in Nigeria where investors can scale year-round farming without the added cost of powered irrigation.

That production base is backed by active technical partnerships, including collaborations with India on agricultural technology transfer and with Córdoba, Argentina on alfalfa and fodder crop development, as well as ongoing work with IITA and AfricaRice on seed varieties and yield optimization for rice.

Investors already operating in the state point to this combination of raw material access and government support as a differentiator. WACOT, a TGI Member Company, has used InvestJigawa’s certification and smallholder-integration support to export premium organic sesame into the EU and US markets. Matura Agro Resources has built a livestock feed value chain in the state, commercializing hay and pellets. ComttraJigawa has partnered with the state government on industrial-scale hibiscus cleaning and fumigation, sharply reducing export rejection rates.

Jigawa’s presence in Kigali placed these successes — and the opportunities still open around them — in front of the investors and institutions the Forum was built to convene, from continental development finance leaders to global agribusiness players scouting their next markets.

Looking ahead

Jigawa’s participation at AFSF 2026 reinforces InvestJigawa’s ongoing strategy of positioning the state within Nigeria’s non-oil export economy and the continent’s $3.4 trillion AfCFTA market. With Nigeria’s non-oil exports — led by products like sesame and hibiscus — continuing to rise, and with Jigawa consistently ranked among the safest states in northern Nigeria, the state is pressing its case as a serious, investment-ready partner for agribusiness capital entering Africa.

For more information on investment opportunities in Jigawa State’s Agriculture and Agribusiness sector, contact InvestJigawa at info@investjigawa.gov.ng or +234 802 809 4113.