The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) has unveiled initiatives aimed at tackling what it described as Nigeria’s volatile agricultural market and protecting smallholder farmers from persistent price instability.

Managing Director of the financial institution, Ayo Sotinrin, while describing the reforms as part of the agricultural agenda of President Bola Tinubu, said that the interventions would improve farmers’ income, expand financial inclusion and boost food security.

Sotinrin, who spoke during an interview on AIT, emphasised that the initiatives reflect the Federal Government’s commitment to supporting farmers whose labour ensures Nigerians do not go hungry.

The BoA boss noted that the reforms align with the President’s drive to strengthen food systems, scale production and ensure farmers enjoy the rewards of their efforts.

Sotinrin added that the food stabilisation programme would be driven as a massive national campaign, with the country sensitised through all media platforms.

He, however, announced a shift from direct microcredit to a digital ecosystem driven by farmer aggregation companies.

Meanwhile, the bank has partnered with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to expand mechanised farming and improve access to agricultural financing for serving and retired Air Force personnel engaged in farming activities.

The collaboration, which will focus on concessional financing, farm inputs and mechanisation support, followed a high-level meeting between Sotinrin and the leadership of the NAF Farms and Agro-Allied Services.

This was disclosed in a statement yesterday by BOA’s Team Lead, Corporate Communication Department, Ruth Didam.

According to the statement, both organisations identified strategic areas of collaboration aimed at strengthening agricultural operations across Nigerian Air Force farms and enhancing productivity within the military’s farming ecosystem.

The statement noted that the collaboration would support active-duty officers involved in farming, retired Air Force personnel transitioning into agriculture, women officers participating in farming initiatives and spouses of personnel engaged in agricultural activities.

Sotinrin said the initiative is expected to build 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.

Both organisations are expected to formalise the collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), while technical working groups will be constituted to develop the financing framework, eligibility criteria and disbursement protocols for the programme.