The World Bank has approved a $500 million credit facility through the International Development Association to strengthen Nigeria’s agricultural sector, with a focus on smallholder farmers, value chain development, and food security.
The funding will support the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains for Growth Project (AGROW), a programme designed to boost productivity, improve market access, and create jobs nationwide. Approved on March 30, 2026, the initiative aims to address longstanding structural challenges affecting the sector.
According to the World Bank, agriculture remains Nigeria’s largest source of employment but continues to underperform due to low productivity, limited access to quality inputs, climate-related shocks, and weak market linkages. These challenges have kept many farmers in subsistence production while food and nutrition insecurity persists.
Under the AGROW project, agribusinesses sourcing from smallholder farmers will benefit from a results-based matching grant system. The programme will prioritise key value chain activities such as aggregation, post-harvest handling, agro-processing, and improved market access, focusing on crops like rice, maize, cassava, and soybeans.
The initiative also includes measures to strengthen agricultural research and extension services, expand access to climate-resilient seeds, and establish a national digital farm and farmer registry. Farmers will receive digital advisory services, including localised weather and climate information, to enhance productivity and resilience.
Additionally, the project will improve seed and fertiliser regulatory systems, increase early-generation seed supply, and encourage greater private sector participation in input production. It will also promote transparent land-based investments and ensure stronger coordination, monitoring, and citizen engagement, with emphasis on women and youth inclusion.
Mathew Verghis described the programme as transformative, noting that it is expected to benefit up to one million farmers, attract significant private investment, and improve yields across targeted crops.
The six-year project, running from 2026 to 2032, is projected to mobilise an additional $220 million in private agribusiness investment, reinforcing Nigeria’s efforts to modernise agriculture and drive economic growth.
