By: Simeon Shodimu
As Nigeria grapples with persistent food inflation and supply chain instability, the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) is rolling out a new intervention aimed at stabilising food prices, protecting farmers from market volatility, and repositioning agriculture as a more predictable and profitable venture for smallholders across the country.
The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) has announced a fresh set of initiatives designed to address Nigeria’s volatile agricultural market and shield smallholder farmers from persistent price fluctuations that have long undermined productivity and income stability.
Managing Director of the bank, Ayo Sotinrin, said the reforms form part of the Federal Government’s broader agricultural transformation agenda under President Bola Tinubu, with a focus on strengthening food systems, expanding production capacity, and improving farmer welfare.
Speaking during an interview on AIT, Sotinrin noted that the interventions are intended to improve farmers’ earnings, deepen financial inclusion, and enhance national food security by reducing the uncertainty that often follows harvest cycles.
He explained that the proposed food stabilisation programme would be implemented as a nationwide campaign, supported by extensive sensitisation across traditional and digital media platforms to ensure broad participation by farmers and stakeholders.
A major shift under the new framework is the bank’s move away from traditional direct microcredit delivery towards a digital agricultural ecosystem anchored by farmer aggregation companies. According to Sotinrin, this model is expected to improve efficiency, transparency, and access to credit while reducing operational bottlenecks.
In a parallel development, the BoA has entered into a strategic partnership with the Nigerian Air Force to expand mechanised farming and improve access to agricultural financing for serving and retired personnel engaged in agricultural ventures.
The collaboration will provide concessional financing, farm inputs, and mechanisation support for military farming projects. It follows a high-level engagement between BoA leadership and the NAF Farms and Agro-Allied Services team.
Both institutions identified key areas of cooperation aimed at strengthening agricultural productivity within the Air Force ecosystem, including support for active-duty personnel involved in farming, retired officers transitioning into agriculture, and families of service members participating in agribusiness activities.
The initiative is expected to foster a self-sustaining agricultural value chain within the military community while contributing to broader national food security objectives and income diversification.
According to a statement by BoA’s Corporate Communication Team Lead, Ruth Didam, the partnership will be formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with technical working groups to be established to design financing structures, eligibility criteria, and disbursement frameworks.
Caption:
BoA moves to stabilise food prices, partners Nigerian Air Force on mechanised farming and farmer financing drive
