The Federal Government of Nigeria has pumped in N1.5 trillion into the Bank of Agriculture in a bed to boast food production across the country.
G pumps N1.5trn into Bank of Agric to boost food production.
This was contained in a statement by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, on Wednesday.
Kyari made the disclosure while receiving the delegation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Abuja.
He described the “huge amount” as a “game changer” that has never happened in the history of the country’s agriculture.
The Minister said, “I’m happy to announce, and which was passed by the National Assembly and also accepted to by Mr. President, the provision of N1.5 trillion to the Bank of Agriculture, which is equivalent to about a billion Dollars in 2025.
“That would be the game-changer, I believe, in terms of financing. I’m not sure if it has happened in recent times, that huge amount of money to be given to the Bank of Agriculture,” he said
Kyari emphasized that agri-processing and businesses will also benefit from the N500bn. Which is about $300bn, made available to the Bank of Industry.
He said, we’ve identified agriculture as a priority in the financial sector. And we hope to leverage the Nigerian banking sector. And we’ll create dedicated agri-financing facilities with first-law cover to encourage the banks to take more risks in this regard.
“This will be accompanied by capacity building at the bank level, and also at the sub-borrower level. This is given the importance of agriculture, for employment, food security, access to finance and inclusion,” the Minister stated
Kyari, therefore, appealed to the European Bank to invest in Nigeria significantly to help the country achieve its target. Particularly, by addressing issues of post harvest losses, irrigation facilities, poor yields and other aspects of the sector.
The EBRD Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Dr. Heike Harmgart, expressed happiness at the development. She stated that the bank’s team was in the ministry after Nigeria become a shareholder recently.
Harmgart said the visitin order to identify areas of investment across the various sectors of the economy.
She said, “As you have seen, your ministry is very popular with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
This is because we feel food security is at the heart of not just the development of a country but also, given the enormous potentials of Nigeria or economic growth and jobs.
‘So, at the EBRD, we are a bank that supports the private and public sectors across the whole food value chain,” she said.
Dr Hamgart said EBRD will work with the local banks to develop financing products for the agricultural sector.
She said the bank is set to open its office in Lagos, Nigeria.
“We’re also looking to hire talented Nigerians working across all the sectors of the economy. As well as learning from the different ministries’ priorities. This is because we hope to present to our board the proposal to make Nigeria a country we can invest in at our annual meeting in May.”