By Lanre Shodimu
As part of Government’s policy of agricultural development and food security,
agribusiness has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the Bank of Industry’s N636 billion credit push in 2025, which analysts see as commendable gesture.
It’s indeed a record-breaking disbursement and marks a significant moment for Nigeria’s leading development finance institution (DFI), as it seeks to anchor food security and industrial growth amid persistent macroeconomic headwinds.
Agribusiness is about N202 billion or roughly 32% of the total funds, far outstripping allocations for infrastructure and manufacturing. N100 billion was disbursed to infrastructure, N79 billion to manufacturing, N77 billion to extractive industries, and N55 billion to services.
The 2025 milestone was achieved despite global macroeconomic challenges that created a significant financing gap and placed pressure on development finance institutions. Demand for BOI financing grew due to its relatively cheaper and longer tenured funding.
The feat drew commendations from President Bola Tinubu who said BOI’s performance was evidence of economic growth, in a statement.
“The N636 billion disbursed by the Bank of Industry in 2025 translates directly into productive capacity across Nigeria. It financed agro-processing expansion, strengthened manufacturing output, supported infrastructure delivery, and empowered thousands of enterprises across our states.
“At a time of global financing constraints, Nigeria expanded access to long-term capital for its businesses. That is a direct outcome of reform, credibility, and institutional discipline,” Tinubu said.
The renewed focus on agricultural financing aligns with broader policy shifts at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which will boost private investments in Agriculture.
The CBN, last year revamped its Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) by inaugurating a new board following the discontinuation of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme due to high repayment challenges.
Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the CBN, gave the charge in Abuja during the inauguration ceremony, describing the Scheme as a critical institution that must evolve to meet the financing needs of modern agriculture.
ACGSF which is 48years old is one of Nigeria’s foremost and longest-standing development finance programmes, with a rich history in our socio-economic journey. It is not the CBN going back to interventions in some sectors, but a continuation of the apex bank’s statutory mandate, which recognises ACGSF. The agriculture sector expanded by 2.82 percent in the second quarter of 2025 (Q2), the first significant growth since the rebasing of the statistical report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The CBN Governor, Mr. Cadoso said the core objective going forward is to make agricultural credit more accessible and inclusive. According to him, “our goal should be that a lack of collateral or remote location is no longer an insurmountable barrier to financing.”
He said agriculture remains central to Nigeria’s economic structure, pointing out that despite its contribution to national output and employment, credit to the sector remains very low.
“Agriculture remains the backbone of our economy, contributing over one-fifth of Nigeria’s GDP and employing nearly two-thirds of our working population. Yet, paradoxically, it receives only a small fraction of formal credit – less than 5 percent of banks’ lending goes to the agricultural sector,” he said.
