The World Bank has approved $500 million in additional financing for Nigeria to tackle flooding, restore degraded agricultural land, and mitigate recurring conflicts between farmers, herders, and rural communities across northern Nigeria.
Approved under the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project, the facility is designed to bolster climate resilience, improve water resource management, and boost agricultural productivity across all 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to a statement published on the World Bank’s website on Wednesday, the fresh financing will support watershed rehabilitation, erosion control, and the restoration of 1.4 million hectares of degraded land, benefiting roughly 6.6 million people by 2031.
“By 2031, this fund will help restore landscapes, rehabilitate watersheds, improve erosion and flood management, and build more resilient rural livelihoods, reaching 1.4 million hectares and benefiting 6.6 million people,” the statement read. “This is expected to lead to an increase in household incomes, reduced farmer/community/herder conflicts, increases in vegetation health, reduced flooding and associated fatalities, improved soil health and agricultural productivity.”
The bank noted that the new facility builds on the progress of the ongoing ACReSAL programme, which launched in 2022 to combat environmental degradation and climate shocks in the north. So far, the initiative has introduced sustainable landscape management across approximately 550,000 hectares, reaching more than 4.4 million beneficiaries and surpassing its initial catchment management targets.
Commenting on the approval, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said the funds would enable the government to scale up proven climate-adaptation solutions.
“ACReSAL has demonstrated that investments in climate-resilient landscapes can improve livelihoods, strengthen food and water security, and help communities in the parts of Nigeria most vulnerable to climate shocks,” Verghis said. “This additional financing will help scale up proven solutions, restore more degraded land, increase agricultural productivity, and strengthen institutions that can sustain these gains over the long term.”
Similarly, the ACReSAL Task Team Leader, Iganya Agene, noted that the funding would translate earlier planning and institutional reforms into larger-scale investments that drive food security, job creation, and economic opportunities.
Implemented jointly by the Federal Ministries of Environment, Water Resources and Sanitation, and Agriculture and Food Security, the project targets the root causes of resource-driven disputes—such as land degradation and water scarcity—by expanding rural communities’ access to productive land and water.
The latest approval comes roughly four months after the Washington-based lender cleared a $1.25 billion financing package for Nigeria on June 29, 2026, under the Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration programme—comprising a $750 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) and a $500 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
It also underscores Nigeria’s growing debt portfolio with the multilateral lender under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) reveals that Nigeria’s debt stock to the World Bank climbed by 44.6 per cent—or $6.39 billion—from $14.34 billion in March 2023 to $20.73 billion as of June 30, 2026.
The June 2026 exposure—made up of $19.12 billion owed to the IDA and $1.61 billion to the IBRD—accounts for 38.02 per cent of Nigeria’s total $54.52 billion external debt, cementing the World Bank’s status as the nation’s largest multilateral creditor. Meanwhile, the Federal Government is reportedly pursuing another $500 million World Bank facility to establish an infrastructure financing platform, slated for board consideration on May 25, 2027.
