The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) has introduced new initiatives aimed at addressing volatility in Nigeria’s agricultural market and shielding smallholder farmers from persistent price fluctuations.
Managing Director of the bank, Ayo Sotinrin, said the reforms form part of the agricultural transformation agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and are designed to improve farmers’ earnings, deepen financial inclusion and strengthen food security nationwide.
Speaking during an interview on AIT, Sotinrin stressed that the initiatives underscore the Federal Government’s commitment to supporting farmers and ensuring sustainable food production across the country.
He explained that the reforms align with President Tinubu’s broader objective of strengthening Nigeria’s food systems, increasing agricultural output and ensuring farmers benefit adequately from their labour.
According to him, the food price stabilisation initiative will be implemented as a nationwide campaign, with extensive sensitisation programmes to be carried out across multiple media platforms.
Sotinrin also disclosed that the bank is moving away from direct microcredit disbursement to a technology-driven ecosystem anchored on farmer aggregation companies.
In a related development, the BoA has entered into a partnership with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to promote mechanised farming and improve access to agricultural financing for serving and retired Air Force personnel engaged in farming.
The partnership, which will provide concessional loans, farm inputs and mechanisation support, followed a high-level meeting between Sotinrin and officials of NAF Farms and Agro-Allied Services.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the bank’s Team Lead, Corporate Communication Department, Ruth Didam.
According to the statement, both organisations identified key areas of collaboration aimed at improving agricultural operations within Nigerian Air Force farms and boosting productivity across the military’s farming ecosystem.
The initiative is expected to support active-duty officers involved in agriculture, retired personnel transitioning into farming, women officers participating in agricultural programmes and spouses of military personnel engaged in farming activities.
Sotinrin noted that the partnership is expected to create a self-sustaining agricultural value chain within the Air Force community while contributing to national food security, economic empowerment and income diversification for military families.
