The federal government has inaugurated a new board for the Bank of Agriculture, signaling a fresh push to channel credit to farmers and agribusiness operators across the country.
The inauguration took place in Abuja, with the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security presiding over the ceremony. The new board members were sworn in and given a mandate to reposition the bank as a viable funding vehicle for the agricultural sector.
The minister told the incoming board that the Bank of Agriculture must move beyond its current limitations and begin delivering real, accessible financing to smallholder farmers, cooperatives, and agro-processors. He said the government would not tolerate a return to the culture of inefficiency and poor loan recovery that had hampered the bank in previous years.
The Bank of Agriculture is Nigeria’s primary development finance institution for the agricultural sector. The bank has faced persistent challenges around funding gaps, loan defaults, and weak outreach to rural communities.
A government official at the inauguration said the new board was selected based on competence, experience in agricultural finance, and demonstrated understanding of rural economies. The official added that the administration expects the board to present a short-term turnaround plan within its first ninety days in office.
The inauguration comes as the federal government continues to push its food security agenda amid rising food prices and a foreign exchange crunch that has made imported food inputs more expensive for producers. Policymakers have repeatedly identified limited access to farm credit as one of the structural problems slowing agricultural output.
Speaking at the event, one of the newly inaugurated board members said the team was aware of the weight of public expectation and would work to rebuild confidence in the bank. He said the board intends to engage state governments, development partners, and the private sector to mobilize additional capital for on-lending to farmers.
The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria have both been listed as key stakeholders in the planned reform of the bank’s operations. Figures on the bank’s current loan portfolio and recapitalization targets were not immediately available at the time of the inauguration.
Agricultural finance experts have long argued that the Bank of Agriculture needs a capital injection and a structural overhaul to become effective. Without adequate funding, the bank cannot meet demand from farmers who need credit for inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and equipment ahead of each planting season.
Inauguration of new development finance boards has become a recurring feature of the current administration’s economic reform calendar. Critics argue that board changes without systemic funding reforms produce little change on the ground. Supporters of the move say fresh leadership is a precondition for institutional change.
The Bank of Agriculture operates a network of branches across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, with a mandate to serve farmers in both rural and peri-urban areas. Its effectiveness has varied sharply by region, with northern agricultural belts historically receiving more of its loan disbursements than southern states.
The minister directed the new board to prioritize loan recovery from existing defaulters as a way of recycling funds back into the system. He said the bank cannot extend new credit at scale if old debts remain unresolved.
The board’s composition includes representation from the banking sector, the agricultural value chain, and the public service. Names of individual board members were not formally released to reporters at the venue but are expected to be published in an official gazette.
The Federal Government has signaled that the Bank of Agriculture reform is part of a broader plan to retool development finance institutions and make them more responsive to the needs of productive sectors. Further details on the bank’s revised operational mandate are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
