The World Bank plans to approve a $500 million loan to Nigeria in March 2026. This funding aims to boost agricultural productivity, strengthen value chains, and create jobs in participating states. The initiative, called AGROW, is outlined in the World Bank’s Project Information Document for the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth.
The project targets smallholder farmers, aiming to integrate them into structured output markets and promote value addition. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security will implement it alongside participating states. The World Bank emphasizes a private sector-led, public sector-facilitated approach.
AGROW aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, seeking to drive rural employment and income growth. The $500 million facility focuses on four key components: value chain integration, modernizing smallholder production, policy reforms for private investment, and project coordination. It will fund research, improved seeds, digital agriculture platforms, and farmer aggregation models.
Nigeria’s agriculture sector employs about one-third of the working population, yet the country imports roughly $10 billion in food annually. The World Bank highlights challenges in creating quality jobs and addressing food insecurity. The project is designed to mobilize private capital and enhance resilience.
If approved, the loan adds to Nigeria’s growing World Bank portfolio, which reached $18.7 billion in IDA exposure by December 2025. This demonstrates Nigeria’s reliance on concessional financing amid tightening fiscal space and global economic volatility.
