The World Bank has approved a $500m International Development Association credit to support Nigeria’s agricultural sector through a new initiative focused on smallholder farmers, value chains, and food security.
The funding will be used for the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth project, known as AGROW, which is designed to enhance productivity, improve market connections, and generate employment nationwide.
A press statement obtained from the World Bank’s website on Thursday read, “The World Bank has approved a $500m International Development Association credit for the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth Project, aimed at increasing smallholder farmers’ productivity, strengthening agricultural value chains, and creating jobs while improving food and nutrition security.”
The loan, approved on March 30, 2026, highlights ongoing concerns about the sector’s performance despite its importance. The global lender pointed out that agriculture remains the country’s largest employer but continues to face major challenges.
It stated, “Agriculture remains Nigeria’s largest source of employment, yet low productivity, limited access to quality inputs, climate shocks, and weak market linkages for smallholder farmers have constrained its potential to generate better jobs and affordable food.”
According to the bank, many smallholder farmers remain stuck in subsistence farming, while food and nutrition insecurity continues across the country. The AGROW project will support agribusinesses that work with smallholder farmers through a results-based matching grant system.
The programme will focus on areas such as aggregation, post-harvest handling, agro-processing, and improved market access, with priority given to crops like rice, maize, cassava, and soybeans.
It will also strengthen agricultural research and extension services, expand access to improved and climate-resilient seeds, and introduce a national digital farm and farmer registry. Farmers are expected to benefit from digital advisory tools, including localised weather and climate updates to improve output and resilience.
The World Bank further noted that the project will enhance seed and fertiliser regulatory systems, boost early-generation seed supply, and encourage private sector participation in producing quality inputs.
It stated, “In addition, the project will improve seed and fertiliser regulatory systems, expand early-generation seed supply, enhance private sector production of high-quality seed and farmers’ access to quality fertiliser, and promote transparent and responsible land-based investments.”
The initiative will also feature strong coordination, monitoring, and citizen engagement, with a focus on including women and youth.
Speaking on the programme, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, described it as a major milestone for the sector. “AGROW is a transformative step for Nigeria’s agriculture—empowering smallholder farmers, unlocking private sector-led growth, and strengthening food security in a sustainable way,” he said.
He added, “This project is expected to benefit up to one million smallholder farmers, mobilise significant private investment, and increase yields across targeted crops. At the same time, it will help to ensure improved food and nutrition security and greater resilience to climate shocks among farmers in the participating states across Nigeria.”
The six-year project, set to run from 2026 to 2032, is expected to attract an additional $220m in private agribusiness investment. The bank noted that the initiative aligns with Nigeria’s goals of boosting agricultural productivity, creating jobs, and increasing value addition, while helping smallholder farming transition into commercially viable agribusinesses.
Nigeria continues to depend on concessional multilateral financing for development. Data from the Debt Management Office shows that the country’s exposure to the World Bank Group stood at $19.54bn as of September 30, 2025, accounting for about 40.34 per cent of its total external debt stock of $48.46bn, underscoring the lender’s significant role among Nigeria’s creditors.
