en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) of Nigeria has unveiled a strategic roadmap aimed at modernizing its operations, expanding grassroots financial inclusion, and supporting the country's agricultural transformation to enhance food security.
BOA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ayodeji Oludare Sotinrin announced plans for operational upgrades and strategic partnerships in a statement. The bank, which plays a statutory role in disbursing government subsidy funds, continues to support smallholder farmers with single-digit low-interest loans to reduce their production costs and lessen reliance on commercial lending rates. To expand this mission, the bank is strengthening collaboration with state-level delivery platforms, licensed input suppliers, and international development partners.
A key component of the strategy is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aligning BOA's revitalization agenda with the UNDP's Integrated Smart National Plan (ISSP). This partnership aims to support the transformation of Nigeria's agricultural sector into an investment-ready system capable of attracting large-scale blended finance and climate finance. The collaboration also builds on the "One Million Hectares of Tree Crops Initiative," described as a presidential priority, aimed at advancing commercial agriculture, creating jobs, and strengthening export diversification. Sotinrin stated that the bank's goal is to deploy capital equitably and efficiently, bringing everyone, especially young farmers in inland areas, into the financial network to create a resilient food system for Nigeria.
BOA has introduced stricter verification frameworks to address the issue of "ghost farmers" and the misappropriation of agricultural inputs. The revised credit file process integrates Bank Verification Number (BVN) verification, Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, and GPS farm mapping to enhance transparency and accountability. The bank emphasized that these digital safeguards ensure public funds and inputs genuinely reach farmers and cooperatives engaged in agricultural production.
The bank is modernizing rural service delivery through an accelerated digital transformation supported by the UNDP, including deploying ICT infrastructure across its 110 branches, digital farmer platforms, agent banking systems, and solar-powered operations to improve access to financial and extension services in remote areas.
Muhammad Magaji, National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), commended BOA's role in protecting farmers from high commercial interest rates and called for faster loan disbursement to align with planting seasons. He expressed support for the necessity of BOA's strict verification, viewing it as the only way to ensure interventions truly reach smallholder farmers who are actually cultivating.
BOA added that it will continue to collaborate with commodity associations, cooperatives, and other agricultural stakeholders through engagement platforms to identify genuine beneficiaries and support the implementation of the National Agricultural Food Systems Investment Plan (NASIP). The bank stated that the strategy aims to deepen agricultural financing, strengthen rural inclusion, and contribute to national food security goals.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
