Nigeria acquires $134 million loan for farming investment

Nigeria has secured a loan of $134 million (€127 million) to invest in farming, Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari announced on Thursday.

President Bola Tinubu's government has previously said that boosting food security is a goal of his administration.

What did the government say about the plan?

Kyari said in a post on social media that the plan aimed "to boost productivity in key staple crops, including wheat, rice, and maize, for both dry and wet season farming."

He said that Nigeria's federal government planned to "provide subsidized agricultural inputs to 250,000 wheat farmers and 150,000 rice farmers this season" as part of its agricultural support program.

The minister said the government would "establish a minimum guarantee price for crops, helping to stabilize farmers' incomes and reduce reliance on imports."

The $134 million loan was secured from the African Development Bank.

Nigeria faces food crisis

Around 25 million Nigerians face "acute food insecurity," according to figures from the Cadre Harmonise — a tool for assessing food security. This number is expected to rise to 33 million in 2025.

The report cited the economic effects of the continuous devaluation of the Nigerian currency, the naira, against the dollar and Tinubu's decision last year to abolish a fuel subsidy that had been in place for decades. In June of this year, annual food-price inflation was recorded at 40.9%.

Northern Nigeria has become increasingly arid due to climate change and deforestation while violence and desertification have sparked conflicts between farming communities and nomadic herdsmen.

Last month, 1.6 million hectares of farmland were destroyed in central Nigeria by torrential rains.Western and central African countries were also hit by flooding in September.

This article was written in part with material from AFP news agency.

Edited by: Alex Berry