The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a $200 million loan to support the scale up of priority agricultural investments in Nigeria under the second phase of the National Agricultural Growth Scheme – Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP).
The funding will help boost productivity, strengthen value chains and accelerate climate-smart, data-driven farming across the country. The scheme is part of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s wider agricultural reform efforts.
The new approval follows an earlier financing for Sector Budget Support under the Bank Group’s African Emergency Food Production Facility. It will directly support the implementation of five key programmes under the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP).
The five focus areas include access to high-quality agricultural inputs, strengthening value chains for priority crops, revitalising extension services, promoting digital and climate-smart agriculture, and improving agricultural data management systems.
According to details of the programme, the funding is designed to raise staple crop production and productivity by making accessible technologies available to farmers. These include climate-resistant, high-yield seed varieties and fertiliser blends tailored to local environments.
The scheme will also expand access to crop insurance to protect farmers from climate-related losses. It aims to increase wheat production fivefold and raise rice output by 20 percent in order to strengthen national self-sufficiency. In addition, it seeks to encourage Nigerian youth to expand cultivated areas and adopt more commercially oriented farming practices, helping to turn the country’s growing youth population into a driver of economic opportunity.
Dr. Abdul Kamara, African Development Bank Director General for Nigeria, said the second phase builds on earlier achievements.
“Building on the strong results achieved under Phase 1, this second phase draws directly from those lessons and successes to scale up impact even further. By expanding access to quality inputs, digital tools, and climate-smart technologies, we are supporting farmers to improve productivity and resilience. This programme will continue to play a critical role in reducing food imports, boosting local production, and advancing inclusive growth across the country,” he said.
The first phase of NAGS-AP introduced an ICT-based system that delivered quality seeds, pesticides and fertiliser to farmers through more than 600 agro-dealers nationwide. It also supported the cultivation of 118,000 hectares of wheat during the 2023/2024 dry season, tripling national wheat output to an estimated 0.5 million metric tons in 2024.
So far, about 650,000 smallholder farmers growing wheat, rice, cassava, maize, sorghum and millet have benefited from the programme.
Agriculture currently employs 38 percent of Nigeria’s working population and contributes 25.2 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). However, the sector continues to face low productivity due to limited access to quality seeds and fertilisers, weak land tenure systems, low irrigation levels, climate breakdown and soil degradation.
The project will run for four years beginning in March 2026. It aligns with Bank Group President Sidi Ould Tah’s Four Cardinal Points strategic vision for Africa, which focuses on empowering young people and women through technology and financial support.
