Nigeria suffers from poverty and food insecurity as a result of economic recession and the neglect of the agricultural sector, with the most devastating effect manifested in poor health conditions of the people leading to outbreak of various diseases and even death among the citizens. The concern to improve the standard of living of the citizens by ensuring food security and reducing the high level of poverty was attached great importance by successive governments; yet, food insecurity and poverty still persist even at higher rates.

This paper is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of community-driven development approach towards solving problems of food insecurity and poverty in Nigeria. The study design was descriptive in nature and it adopted community-driven development approach. Secondary sources of data collection such as publications from National Bureau of Statistics, International Fund for Agricultural Development, World Bank, and Food and Agriculture Organization, among others, were utilized, while simple content analysis was used for data analysis.

The major findings were that improved agricultural productivity and adoption of improved modern technology of production contributed to food security. Also, increase in income of farmers and improvement in their quality of life facilitated poverty reduction.

The paper therefore recommended that community participation and empowerment of the people should be adopted in order to ensure food security and poverty reduction in Nigeria.