The African Development Bank Group’s board of directors has approved a $200 million loan to expand priority agricultural investments in Nigeria, according to a statement on its website.
He said the funding will support the second phase of the federal government’s national agricultural growth plan, AgroPocket.
This is aimed at increasing productivity, strengthening value chains and accelerating climate-smart, data-driven agriculture, the statement said.
“This approval follows previous financing under the Banking Group’s Africa Emergency Food Production Facility and will contribute to the implementation of five programs under the National Agricultural Innovation Policy.”
“The program focuses on improving access to quality agricultural inputs, strengthening value chains for priority crops, revitalizing extension services, promoting digital and climate-smart agriculture, and strengthening agricultural data management.
“This funding is expected to increase production of staple crops through climate-resilient, high-yielding seed varieties and fertilizer formulations tailored to local conditions. At the same time, it will expand crop insurance coverage to protect farmers from climate-related losses,” the statement said.
The fund also targets a five-fold increase in wheat production and a 20% increase in rice production, the AfDB said. According to the statement, this will strengthen the country’s food self-sufficiency while encouraging youth participation in commercial agriculture.
The statement quoted the bank’s Nigeria country director, Abdul Kamara, as saying that the second phase builds on the positive results of the first phase.
“Building on the strong results achieved in the first phase, this second phase will directly leverage those lessons and successes to further scale our impact. By expanding access to high-quality inputs, digital tools, and climate-smart technologies, we are helping farmers improve productivity and resilience.”
“This program will continue to play an important role in reducing food imports, increasing local production and promoting inclusive growth across the country,” Kamara said.
Phase 1 featured an ICT-based system to deliver high-quality seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers to farmers through over 600 agricultural product dealers across the country.
It will also support the cultivation of 118,000 hectares of wheat during the 2023/2024 dry season, tripling national wheat production to an estimated 500,000 tonnes in 2024, benefiting 650,000 smallholder farmers so far.
Agriculture employs approximately 38 percent of Nigeria’s workforce and contributes to 25.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, but the sector faces low productivity due to limited access to quality inputs, inadequate irrigation and climate challenges.
The four-year project, scheduled to begin in March, is in line with the bank’s strategic vision of empowering youth and women through technology and financial support.
(South)
