Tax Incentives for Agricultural Investment and Food Systems Development in Taraba State

This research examines the design and effectiveness of tax incentives targeting agricultural investment and food systems development in Taraba State, North East Nigeria. Taraba, endowed with fertile land, diverse agroecological zones, and significant agro-industrial potential, has yet to fully translate its agricultural endowments into food systems growth. Federal tax incentives including zero VAT on basic agricultural products, CIT exemptions for agro-processing firms, and import duty waivers on machinery are available, but their uptake and impact in Taraba remain limited and understudied at the professional level. A mixed-methods PGD design is adopted, collecting primary data through structured questionnaires from 60 agribusinesses and interviews with ten officials from the Taraba State Agricultural Development Programme and the state Internal Revenue Service. Secondary data from FIRS revenue reports on agricultural sector tax expenditure are incorporated. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis are employed. The study expects to find that awareness of federal incentives is low among Taraba agribusinesses, and that state-level bureaucratic bottlenecks prevent effective uptake of available schemes. Recommendations include establishing a one-stop agricultural investment tax advisory centre in Jalingo, partnering with the Bank of Agriculture to bundle incentive information with loan disbursement counselling, and introducing state-level matching incentives to complement federal provisions. Keywords: tax incentives, agricultural investment, Taraba State, agribusiness, food systems.