The Bank of Agriculture (BOA), in partnership with the Federal Government, has launched the Renewed Hope Smallholder Agricultural Financing Programme, an initiative aimed at increasing Nigeria’s annual grain production from about 11 million tonnes to 25 million tonnes while strengthening food security and easing rising food prices.
The programme, unveiled alongside the Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund in Zaria on Friday, is designed to expand access to affordable financing for smallholder farmers by providing subsidised fertilisers, certified hybrid seeds and other essential agricultural inputs through a single-digit interest lending scheme.
Speaking at the launch, the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, Ayodeji Oludare-Sotinrin, said the intervention would provide critical farm inputs through BOA’s nine per cent lending facility rather than grants, ensuring both affordability for farmers and the long-term sustainability of the programme.
“This is designed to increase productivity and strengthen national food security sustainably,” Oludare-Sotinrin said.
He disclosed that BOA selected 20 farm aggregators from more than 1,240 applicants after assessing their technical competence and operational capacity to support farmers across participating states during the pilot phase.
According to him, the first phase of the programme is expected to reach about 500,000 farmers during the current farming season. Coverage is projected to expand to two million farmers next year before scaling up to five million farmers nationwide.
Oludare-Sotinrin said the programme has the potential to transform Nigeria’s agricultural output if participating farmers achieve higher productivity.
“If five million farmers cultivate one hectare each and achieve yields of at least five tonnes per hectare, Nigeria could generate around 25 million tonnes of grain annually for domestic consumption and export,” he said.
He noted that the projected increase in grain production would reduce food imports, stabilise domestic food prices, strengthen food security, create jobs in rural communities and contribute to broader economic growth.
The BOA managing director also announced plans to introduce irrigation financing and irrigation-as-a-service initiatives to support year-round farming, improve productivity, increase farmers’ incomes and reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
He urged beneficiaries to utilise the agricultural inputs strictly for farming activities, avoid diversion or resale, comply with extension service guidelines and ensure prompt repayment of loans to sustain the revolving financing model.
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 increasing domestic agricultural production rather than relying on food imports.
Kyari said food affordability is largely determined by supply and demand, stressing that expanding agricultural output through timely access to quality inputs remains a central pillar of the Tinubu administration’s food security agenda.
He disclosed that about two million farmers are expected to benefit from the programme through registered farm aggregators, who will provide quality farm inputs, extension services and a Guaranteed Minimum Price mechanism aimed at protecting farmers from exploitative market practices after harvest.
“Although nearly 90 per cent of Nigerian farmers cultivate less than one hectare, they produce about 85 per cent of the country’s food, making sustained support for smallholders essential to food security,” the minister said.
Kyari expressed confidence that improved seed varieties, weather-based advisory services, timely distribution of farm inputs and guaranteed pricing would significantly increase agricultural productivity, reduce food prices and improve farmers’ incomes.
The launch comes months after the Bank of Agriculture proposed a nationwide partnership with members of the House of Representatives to mechanise arable land across Nigeria’s 360 federal constituencies as part of efforts to accelerate the country’s transition from subsistence farming to large-scale mechanised agriculture.
Boluwatife Enome
Follow us on:
