BY BONNY AMADI
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a $200 million loan to finance the scale up of priority agricultural investments that boost productivity, strengthen value chains and accelerate climate-smart, data-driven farming under the second phase of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s National Agricultural Growth Scheme – Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP).
The new approval follows an earlier approval of financing for Sector Budget Support under the Bank Group’s African Emergency Food Production Facility. It will contribute directly to the implementation of five programmes under the Na tional Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP).
These are: access to high-quality agricultural inputs; strengthening value chains for priority crops; revitalising extension services; promoting digital and climate-smart agriculture; and agricultural data management.
The funding targets raising staple crop production and productivity through accessible technologies such as climate-resistant, high yield seed varieties and fertiliser blends tailored to local environments.
It will expand access to crop insurance to protect farmers from climate-related losses, with the aim of increasing wheat production fivefold and rice output by 20 percent to strengthen national self-sufficiency. It also aims to encourage Nigerian youth to expand cultivated areas and adopt more commercially oriented farming, helping turn the country’s growing youth population into a driver of economic opportunity.
Dr. Abdul Kamara, African Development Bank Director General for Nigeria said: “Building on the strong results achieved under Phase 1, this second phase draws directly from those lessons and successes to scale up impact even further. By expanding access to quality inputs, digital tools, and climate smart technologies, we are supporting farmers to improve productivity and resilience. This programme will continue to play a critical role in reducing food imports, boosting local production, and advancing inclusive growth across the country.”
The first Phase of the programme featured the successful rollout of an ICT based system that delivered quality seeds, pesticides and fertiliser to farmers via 600 plus agro dealers nationwide. Phase one also supported the cultivation of 118,000 hectares of wheat in the 2023/2024 dry season, tripling national wheat output to an estimated 0.5 million metric tons in 2024. In total, 650,000 smallholder farmers of wheat, rice, cassava, maize, sorghum, and millet have benefited to date.
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