Onome Amuge
President Bola Tinubu has approved a landmark recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) with a N1.5 trillion commitment. The move, hailed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security as the most significant boost to agricultural financing in Nigeria’s history, is expected to reposition the institution as a dynamic development finance entity focused on the nation’s youth and women-led agribusinesses.
The recapitalisation is a cornerstone of the government’s strategy to transform Nigeria’s agriculture, moving it from a subsistence-based model to a modern, technology-enabled, and globally competitive sector. The announcement, made in a statement from the agriculture ministry, signals a commitment from the Tinubu administration to address underfunding and related inefficiencies that have long plagued Nigeria’s food production capabilities.
For decades, the Bank of Agriculture has struggled with a combination of insufficient funding, operational challenges, and a limited reach, making it difficult for the vast majority of Nigeria’s smallholder farmers to access the credit they need to grow their businesses. The recapitalisation is considered as not just a financial injection, but also a fundamental institutional reform aimed at revitalising the bank and making it a genuine engine for rural economic development.
The BOA recapitalisation does not exist in a vacuum, as it is considered the financial backbone of a comprehensive policy framework designed to accelerate agricultural transformation. According to Abubakar Kyari, minister of agriculture and food security,the implementation of the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) will be a key driver in this effort.
Kyari explained that NATIP provides the policy foundation for transforming agriculture into a modern, tech-enabled, and youth-driven sector. The policy promotes mechanisation, digital agriculture, and stronger research-to-commercialisation linkages. “With NATIP, we are building a system, one that supports youth innovation, unlocks productivity, and rewards ambition. We must now ensure it delivers at scale,” the minister said.
The ministry is also leveraging the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism, which was launched in May 2025 and is being coordinated by the Presidential Food Systems Coordination Unit. This mechanism is designed to translate institutional reforms into tangible impact on the ground. Kyari stressed the importance of setting clear delivery expectations, including establishing annual lending targets for youth and women-led agribusinesses and designing guarantees to expand access to credit rather than just inflate fees.
He emphasised a fundamental shift in financing philosophy: “It means financing cash flows, not just collateral. And it means equipping entrepreneurs not only with credit, but with the capabilities to absorb and grow that capital,” he added.This new approach seeks to directly address a major barrier to entry for small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs who lack the traditional assets required by conventional lenders but have viable business plans and the ambition to succeed.
According to the minister, the economic rationale behind this historic investment is rooted in President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places food security and job creation as interdependent levers for economic diversification, social stability, and national sovereignty.
For a country that has been increasingly reliant on food imports, a large-scale investment in domestic production is a strategic imperative. The policy is said to be showing early signs of potential, with Kyari noting that initiatives under the policy are gaining traction across several states and have already reached 250,000 farmers.
