By Barbara Nwaiwu
The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has unveiled a strategic roadmap aimed at modernising its operations, expanding grassroots financial inclusion and supporting Nigeria’s agricultural transformation in line with efforts to strengthen food security.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BOA, Mr Ayodeji Oludare Sotinrin, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday, announcing operational upgrades and strategic partnerships designed to improve the delivery of agricultural intervention programmes and empower smallholder farmers across the country.
According to Sotinrin, BOA, as the apex agricultural development finance institution, plays a statutory role in safeguarding and deploying subsidised government funds and has continued to support smallholder farmers through single digit interest loans that reduce exposure to commercial lending rates and lower production costs.
To expand this mandate, he said the bank was strengthening collaboration with state level delivery platforms, licensed input suppliers and international development partners.
A major component of the strategy is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aimed at aligning BOA’s revitalisation agenda with the UNDP Integrated Smart States Programme (ISSP).
According to the bank, the partnership is intended to support the transition of Nigeria’s agricultural sector into an investment-ready system capable of attracting large-scale blended and climate finance.
The collaboration is also anchored on the One Million Hectare Tree Crop Initiative, described as a presidential priority targeted at advancing commercial agriculture, creating employment opportunities and strengthening export diversification.
“Our vision for the Bank of Agriculture is to deploy capital in an intelligent, smart, and highly efficient way to reposition the institution as a catalyst for food security and rural prosperity. We are bringing everyone into the financial net, especially the youthful population of farmers in our hinterlands, to create a new, resilient food system for Nigeria”. Sotinrin said.
The BOA Managing Director further disclosed that the bank had introduced a stricter verification framework to address the issue of “portfolio farmers” and diversion of agricultural inputs intended for genuine beneficiaries.
According to him, the revised credit profiling process incorporates Bank Verification Number (BVN) verification, Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures and GPS farm mapping to improve transparency and accountability.
“These necessary digital safeguards guarantee that public funds and inputs reach genuine, actively practicing farmers and cooperatives. For the BOA, ensuring transparency and accountability in the disbursement process is paramount.”
The National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Muhammad Magaji, commended the bank’s role in shielding farmers from high commercial interest rates and called for faster loan disbursement to align with planting periods.
“The All Farmers Association of Nigeria recognises the critical role the Bank of Agriculture plays in shielding our farmers from exorbitant commercial interest rates. While we continuously advocate for faster disbursement cycles to match planting seasons, we stand with the BOA on the need for strict verification.”
“It is the only way to ensure that these interventions reach the genuine smallholder farmers who actually till the soil, rather than ‘political farmers.’ We remain committed to working closely with the BOA management to fine-tune this delivery framework.” He said
The bank also disclosed that it was modernising service delivery across rural communities through accelerated digital transformation supported by the UNDP.
According to BOA, the initiative includes deployment of ICT infrastructure, digital farmer platforms, agency banking systems and solar-powered operations across its 110 branches to improve access to financial and extension services in remote locations.
The bank added that it would continue working with commodity associations, cooperative societies and other agricultural stakeholders through engagement platforms to identify genuine beneficiaries and support implementation of the National Agri-food System Investment Plan (NASIP).
BOA maintained that the strategy is designed to deepen agricultural financing, strengthen rural inclusion and contribute to national food security objectives.
