By Kingsley Benson
Nigeria’s battle against rising food prices will ultimately be won on the farm. While short-term interventions such as food imports and market controls can ease supply pressures, sustainable food security depends on increasing domestic agricultural production. The federal government’s new partnership with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) reflects this long-term strategy by combining affordable financing, improved farm inputs and extension support to help millions of smallholder farmers produce more food, raise incomes and strengthen the country’s agricultural value chain.
The BOA, in partnership with the federal government, has launched the Renewed Hope Smallholder Agricultural Financing Programme, an initiative designed to increase Nigeria’s annual grain production from about 11 million tonnes to 25 million tonnes.
Unveiled recently in Zaria, Kaduna State, the programme seeks to provide affordable financing, quality farm inputs and technical support to smallholder farmers while promoting sustainable agricultural production through a revolving credit model.
Speaking at the launch of the Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund, the Managing Director of BOA, Mr. Ayodeji Oludare-Sotinrin, said the initiative is structured to address one of the biggest constraints facing farmers, which is access to affordable production financing.
Unlike previous interventions that relied mainly on grants, the programme will provide subsidised fertilisers, certified hybrid seeds and other agricultural inputs through the bank’s single-digit interest loan facility at nine percent, allowing farmers to access financing while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the scheme.
According to Mr. Oludare-Sotinrin, the objective is to increase farm productivity without creating dependence on government subsidies.
The programme’s rollout will begin with 500,000 farmers during the current farming season before expanding to 2 million farmers next year and eventually reaching 5 million farmers nationwide.
To ensure effective implementation, BOA selected 20 farm aggregators from more than 1,240 applicants, based on their technical capacity and ability to support participating farmers throughout the production cycle.
Mr. Oludare-Sotinrin expressed confidence that expanding access to quality inputs and improved farming practices could significantly transform Nigeria’s grain production.
He projected that if 5 million farmers each cultivate one hectare and achieve an average yield of five tonnes per hectare, Nigeria could produce 25 million tonnes of grain annually, enough to satisfy domestic demand while creating opportunities for agricultural exports.
Beyond increasing food availability, he said higher production would reduce dependence on food imports, stabilise domestic food prices, create employment in rural communities and support broader economic growth.
Recognising that year-round farming is essential for sustained productivity, the BOA Managing Director also disclosed that the bank is developing irrigation financing and irrigation-as-a-service initiatives to reduce reliance on seasonal rainfall and improve farmers’ incomes.
He urged beneficiaries to use the inputs strictly for farming activities, comply with extension service recommendations and repay their loans promptly to sustain the revolving financing model for future participants.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to addressing food inflation by expanding domestic agricultural production rather than relying on imports.
According to Sen. Kyari, food affordability ultimately depends on increasing supply, making improved access to quality farm inputs a critical pillar of the Tinubu administration’s food security strategy.
