The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has partnered with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to mobilize up to $1 billion in financing aimed at supporting smallholder farmers and strengthening the agricultural value chain in Nigeria. The agreement was finalized during the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2025 in Algiers, Algeria, highlighting a strategic effort to enhance productivity, promote value addition through processing, and integrate farmers more effectively into national and continental markets.
Nigeria’s smallholder farmers, who produce over 90% of the country’s agricultural output, face challenges such as limited access to finance, inadequate adoption of improved technologies, and fragmented market linkages. Through this partnership, the fund will provide farmers with capital and mechanization equipment, enabling them to transition from subsistence farming to sustainable and profitable agribusiness.
The collaboration establishes a framework in which Afreximbank will provide loan guarantees for BOA disbursements, reducing credit risk and expanding financing access for previously underserved farmers. The agreement also includes currency swap arrangements to convert dollar-denominated funding into local currency, mitigating exchange rate risks and facilitating smoother on-lending to farmers. Both institutions aim to leverage this mechanism to improve access to international capital markets while protecting smallholder farmers from financial volatility.
The initiative complements Nigeria’s National Smallholder Farmers Fund, recently established by the Tinubu administration as a revolving matching fund with state governments. The fund is designed to close systemic financial gaps by offering affordable credit for critical inputs, mechanization, and structured market linkages, supporting food security and rural development.
BOA, owned by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria, has been Nigeria’s development finance institution for agriculture since 1972. It provides credit, capacity development, and financial inclusion services to strengthen agricultural value chains, create rural jobs, and promote sustainable economic growth. The recent appointment of a new Managing Director and CEO is part of broader efforts to modernize and transform BOA into a forward-looking institution.
Afreximbank noted that the fourth IATF 2025 was highly successful, drawing over 112,000 participants and generating more than $48 billion in trade deals, underscoring the growing momentum for intra-African trade and investment in agriculture.
