BOA strengthens support for women farmers, targets agricultural input access gap

The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) is intensifying its support for women farmers by expanding access to agricultural finance and inputs, aiming to increase production, strengthen livelihoods, and enhance their participation in the agricultural value chain. The bank acknowledges that women constitute up to 70% of Nigeria's agricultural workforce, yet face significant barriers including limited access to finance, inputs, technology, mechanisation, and markets.

According to World Bank evidence, addressing these barriers could significantly improve women's yields and boost agricultural output, with profound implications for food security and poverty reduction.

BOA's Managing Director and CEO, Ayodeji Sotinrin, emphasized that closing the finance gap presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The bank is tackling this by understanding farmers' needs beyond credit, addressing the broader constraints on production. As part of this strategy, BOA recently supported female farmers in Bwari Area Council, Federal Capital Territory, by providing agricultural inputs, reflecting a commitment to a comprehensive approach that includes inputs, mechanisation, markets, and other necessary support.

The bank's Renewed Hope Smallholder Support & Value Chain Fund is instrumental in this effort, working with farmer aggregation companies to bring over two million smallholder farmers into a structured on-lending framework. This model combines financing with inputs, agronomic support, and off-take arrangements to enhance production.

Additionally, BOA is expanding access to affordable finance, deploying a N250bn facility for single-digit financing to smallholder farmers. The bank's N1.5tn recapitalisation aims to further strengthen its capacity to reach more farmers and deepen agricultural lending.

A key initiative, the Guaranteed Minimum Price Aggregation Programme, connects farmers producing selected commodities to structured aggregation, accredited warehouses, and guaranteed off-take, offering greater price certainty. Collectively, these efforts aim to make agricultural finance more meaningful by aligning capital with real production needs.

BOA is committed to deepening partnerships, financing mechanisms, and value-chain interventions to integrate more farmers, especially smallholders, into the formal agricultural economy.