Stakeholders query FG priority funding of NADF over Bank of Agric

Some stakeholders in the Agriculture sector have expressed dissatisfaction over the Federal Government (FG) funding priority to another agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security over the Bank of Agriculture ( BOA).

The National Council on Agriculture and Food Security ( NCAFS) had in the last meeting held at Calabar approved funding for the National Agricultural Development Fund ( NADF) just as a letter has been sent to the legislators seeking 2025 funding approval to finance all the value chains of the food sector in the country.

This to some stakeholders who spoke with Food Farm News under anonymity has undermined the role of the Bank of Agriculture ( BAO) which they said had been waiting to be recapitalized and repositioned for effective operation according to its statutory mandate.

Stakeholders asked why FG prioritized the NADF over the long-delayed restructuring and re-capitalization of BOA.

They argued that the long-anticipated restructuring and re-capitalization of BOA would have been more impactful to food security being a constituted Nigerian financial institution already supporting the agricultural sector.

The stakeholders punctured the establishment of NADF under the FMAFS when there was already a Bank constitutionally delegated for the purpose.

It will be recalled that BOA had long been plagued with inadequacies of poor management and inefficient service delivery, especially for rural farmers who depend on affordable credit to sustain their agricultural activities.

Despite being one of Nigeria's most important owned banks, with a mandate to finance the agricultural sector, the Agric bank has struggled to fulfill its role effectively.

The government has made several promises to restructure and re-capitalize the Bank to enable it to give a better service to farmers with no avail,  said the stakeholders.

They raised the issue of uncoordinated approach between various ministries and departments involved in the BOA re capitalization process. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) play essential roles in overseeing this financial institution, and differing views among these agencies may be contributing to the slow progress in the BOA's restructuring.

Stakeholders pointed out that as much as the NADF may offer much-needed short-term relief, they contended that the delay in restructuring the BOA was a reflection of no comprehensive strategy for financing Nigeria's agricultural sector.