Nigeria’s agricultural sector received a major vote of confidence this week as the African Development Bank Group approved a $200 million loan to accelerate nationwide farm productivity, strengthen value chains, and promote climate-smart agriculture under the second phase of the National Agricultural Growth Scheme – Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP).
The financing, expected to span four years starting March 2026, aligns with Nigeria’s broader strategy to reduce food imports, improve resilience to climate shocks, and stimulate rural employment through data-driven innovations and access to quality inputs like seeds and fertiliser.
AfDB funding priorities include:
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Enhancing smallholder access to high-quality agricultural inputs
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Strengthening value chains for key staple crops such as rice, cassava, maize, and sorghum
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Revitalising extension services and promoting digital agriculture
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Improving agricultural data management for planning and investment decisions
According to the Bank, the first phase of NAGS-AP helped cultivate over 118,000 hectares of wheat and supported nearly 650,000 smallholder farmers nationwide.
In other developments, Nigeria’s agrofood sector is attracting foreign manufacturers and suppliers who see opportunities to reduce post-harvest losses and introduce new technologies at the annual Agrofood Nigeria trade fair. Industry stakeholders highlighted the need for value-addition infrastructure and modern processing solutions to bridge gaps in Nigeria’s farm-to-market system.
Meanwhile, agricultural markets remain liberalised, giving farmers stronger price signals and negotiation power amid policy reforms aimed at strengthening food security and rural incomes.
Food security experts also point to new financing frameworks underway, including proposals for a Special Agriculture Development Fund to support projects across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones — a move seen as central to achieving long-term supply stability and rural investment.
Why This Matters:
With agriculture employing more than a third of Nigeria’s workforce, sustained investment, technology adoption, and policy coherence are widely viewed as critical to transitioning the sector from subsistence to commercial scale — especially amid climate variability and rising food demand
