The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has unveiled a strategic roadmap aimed at modernising its operations, expanding grassroots financial inclusion, and accelerating agricultural transformation in support of the Federal Government’s food security agenda.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Ayodeji Sotinrin, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, saying the institution is implementing operational upgrades and forging strategic partnerships to enhance the delivery of agricultural intervention programmes and empower smallholder farmers nationwide.
According to the statement, the BOA is strengthening its agricultural delivery framework through expanded collaborations with state-level delivery platforms, licensed input suppliers, and international development partners.
A major component of the strategy is a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which aligns the bank’s revitalisation agenda with the UNDP’s Integrated Smart States Programme.
The bank said the partnership would help transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector into an investment-ready ecosystem capable of attracting blended and climate finance. It added that the collaboration would also support the One Million Hectare Tree Crop Initiative, a presidential priority aimed at boosting commercial agriculture, creating jobs, and diversifying exports.
Sotinrin said the bank’s vision is to deploy capital efficiently and strategically to reposition the institution as a catalyst for food security and rural prosperity.
“Our vision for the Bank of Agriculture is to deploy capital in an intelligent, smart, and highly efficient way to reposition the institution as a catalyst for food security and rural prosperity. We are bringing everyone into the financial net, especially the youthful population of farmers in our hinterlands, to create a new, resilient food system for Nigeria,” he said.
The bank also announced the overhaul of its verification framework to eliminate fraudulent beneficiaries and ensure agricultural interventions reach genuine farmers.
According to the statement, the new credit profiling process incorporates Bank Verification Number checks, Know Your Customer protocols, and GPS farm mapping to improve transparency and accountability in loan disbursement.
Reacting to the initiative, the National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Muhammad Magaji, endorsed the verification measures but urged the bank to speed up loan disbursement.
“The All Farmers Association of Nigeria recognises the critical role the Bank of Agriculture plays in shielding our farmers from exorbitant commercial interest rates. While we continuously advocate for faster disbursement cycles to match planting seasons, we stand with the BOA on the need for strict verification,” he said.
Magaji added that strict verification would ensure interventions reach genuine smallholder farmers rather than individuals seeking to exploit the system.
The BOA further disclosed that it is modernising operations across its 110 branches through the deployment of digital farmer systems, agency banking models, and solar-powered infrastructure to improve service delivery in rural communities.
It added that recent ICT infrastructure support from the UNDP would strengthen its digital transformation efforts and enable it to provide financial and extension services directly to farmers.
The bank said it would continue engaging commodity associations, verified grassroots cooperatives, and other stakeholders through town hall meetings and working groups to identify genuine beneficiaries and support the implementation of the National Agri-food System Investment Plan.
(The Whistler)
