Agribusiness: FG targets N250bn BOA facility, N700bn farm insurance

Nigeria’s agricultural transformation drive is increasingly taking the shape of a large-scale agribusiness expansion, backed by billions of naira in financing, insurance coverage, mechanisation programmes and value-chain investments aimed at boosting food production and attracting private capital.

Speaking at the 2026 Ministerial Stakeholders Engagement Retreat on Agricultural Transformation in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said the Federal Government is positioning agriculture as a key driver of economic growth, with stronger emphasis on agribusiness development, market linkages and value addition.

A major financial pillar of the strategy is a N250 billion facility granted to the Bank of Agriculture to provide smallholder farmers with access to credit at single-digit interest rates, enabling them to purchase improved inputs, mechanised equipment and modern farming technologies.

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In addition, the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) has provided N700 billion risk cover for 199,275 farmers, a move aimed at strengthening farmer resilience against climate shocks, crop losses and market disruptions.

Kyari said the government is shifting agriculture from subsistence to commercially driven agribusiness by developing strategic value chains including rice, maize, wheat, millet, sorghum, cassava, cocoa, cotton, soybeans, oil palm and tomatoes.

“These value chains are creating opportunities for millions of smallholder farmers while attracting investments across production, processing and export markets,” he said.

The government has also intensified input distribution programmes to support farm productivity. Over the past two years, more than 1.9 million bags of fertiliser were distributed to nearly one million farmers, alongside improved seed varieties, pest control packages and agrochemical support.

To strengthen input regulation and investor confidence, authorities established a National Reference Laboratory for fertiliser quality control and upgraded the National Fertiliser Management Platform, while prosecuting offenders involved in the distribution of fake fertilisers.

Nigeria is also expanding agribusiness infrastructure to stimulate agro-processing and reduce post-harvest losses. The government has facilitated the establishment of 10 large-scale integrated processing plants and seven composite flour milling factories across the country, alongside modern markets and agribusiness incubation centres.

These investments are expected to stimulate agro-industrial development, increase local processing capacity and reduce dependence on imported food products.

Further industrial-scale investments are coming through the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme supported by the African Development Bank and development partners.

The project is expected to increase agricultural output by over 60 per cent and cut post-harvest losses by 80 per cent through improved storage, processing and market access.

The government has also launched a nationwide mechanisation push under the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, deploying 2,000 tractors and farm equipment to mechanisation centres across the country.

Meanwhile, agricultural research institutions are supporting agribusiness expansion through innovation. The Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria recently released 65 improved crop varieties and distributed 40 million cocoa seedlings to boost productivity, climate resilience and export potential.

Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, said the transformation of Nigeria’s agriculture sector requires strong collaboration between government, investors, farmers and development partners.

He noted that the stakeholder engagement retreat was designed to align policies with private-sector needs, strengthen agribusiness partnerships and ensure transparency in programme delivery.

Industry stakeholders at the retreat said the government’s financing initiatives, infrastructure investments and regulatory reforms could help unlock significant opportunities across Nigeria’s agricultural value chains, particularly in processing, input supply, export logistics and rural agribusiness services.