Abuja, Nigeria – The World Bank is set to approve a fresh $500 million loan to Nigeria next month to boost agricultural productivity, strengthen value chains, and create jobs across participating states, with an estimated approval date of March 30, 2026.
Okay News reports that details of the planned facility are contained in the World Bank’s Project Information Document on the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth, obtained from the bank’s website. The entire financing will be provided by the International Development Association, with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and participating states serving as implementing agencies. The proposed development objective is to increase smallholder productivity and strengthen targeted agricultural value chains in participating states.
The project, also known as AGROW, has cleared a key internal hurdle, with the review process progressing beyond the appraisal stage to the decision-making stage. The bank noted that the review authorised the team to appraise and negotiate, signalling that final approval is on track. The World Bank highlighted Nigeria’s structural challenges, noting that creating more and better jobs while addressing food and nutrition insecurity remain key development challenges. Agriculture remains the largest employer, with roughly one-third of Nigeria’s working population relying on the sector for their livelihood, while primary agriculture employs about 21 million people.
Despite its vast potential, the sector faces deep constraints, with Nigeria currently importing approximately $10 billion worth of food annually. AGROW will adopt a private sector-led, public sector-facilitated approach to enhance smallholder farmer productivity, systematically integrate them into structured output markets, and promote value addition. The initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and seeks to leverage agriculture as a driver of rural employment and income growth.
The $500 million facility will be deployed across four major components: integrating smallholder farmers into competitive value chains, modernising smallholder production, strengthening policy and the enabling environment for private investment in inputs markets, and project coordination and monitoring. The value chain integration component will support aggregation models that connect smallholders with off-takers and agribusinesses, aiming to reduce transaction costs and improve supply reliability. The production side will invest in research, extension systems, improved seeds, and digital agriculture platforms to raise yields and climate resilience.
If approved as scheduled, the $500 million IDA credit will add to Nigeria’s growing portfolio of World Bank loans. Nigeria’s debt to the bank’s concessional lending arm surged by $1.9 billion in one year to reach $18.7 billion as of December 31, 2025, placing Nigeria as the third-largest borrower in the IDA portfolio behind Bangladesh and Pakistan. As of June 30, 2025, Nigeria’s external debt stood at $46.98 billion, with the World Bank Group accounting for $19.39 billion, representing 41.3 percent of the total and reinforcing its outsized role in funding Nigeria’s development programmes.
