Agribusiness has emerged as the largest beneficiary of the Bank of Industry's N636 billion loan drive in 2025, underlining the country's commitment to the agricultural sector.

The record-breaking payout is noteworthy for Nigeria's primary development financing agency, which is working to stabilise food security and industrial growth in the face of chronic macroeconomic challenges.

Agribusiness received N202 billion, or almost 32% of the overall budget, greatly outpacing allocations for infrastructure and industry. N100 billion was allocated to infrastructure, N79 billion to manufacturing, N77 billion to extractive sectors, and N55 billion for services.

The 2025 target was met despite global macroeconomic challenges that produced a major financial deficit and put pressure on development finance institutions. Demand for BOI financing increased as a result of its lower cost and longer term.

In a statement, President Bola Tinubu praised the achievement, stating that the BOI's performance demonstrated economic progress.

"The N636 billion disbursed by the Bank of Industry in 2025 converts directly into productive capacity in Nigeria. It funded agro-processing growth, increased manufacturing output, facilitated infrastructure delivery, and empowered thousands of businesses across our states.

During a period of global finance restraints, Nigeria increased access to long-term capital for its enterprises. "That is the direct result of reform, credibility, and institutional discipline," Tinubu stated.

The enhanced emphasis on agricultural financing is consistent with broader policy moves at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Following the termination of the Anchor Borrowers' Programme due to high repayment issues, the apex bank overhauled its Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund last year by appointing a new board.

The task was given by Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, during the inauguration ceremony in Abuja, describing the Scheme as a crucial institution that must evolve to fulfil the financial demands of contemporary agriculture.

The 48-year-old ACGSF 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).

Cardoso 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 described agriculture as 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 is the backbone of our economy, accounting for more than a fifth of Nigeria's GDP and employing over two-thirds of the working population. Yet, strangely, it obtains only a small fraction of formal credit - less than 5% of bank loans goes to agriculture," he stated.

Recent data indicate that the sector may be responding to increased financial attention. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria's agricultural sector grew by 2.82 percent in the second quarter of 2025, a significant improvement over the 0.07 percent growth recorded in the first quarter and slightly higher than the 2.6 percent posted in the same period a year earlier.

The CBN's Purchasing Managers' Index for January indicated that the agriculture sector Index increased by 54.2 points, representing the eighteenth consecutive month of improvement.

Sub-indices for general farming operations, new orders, employment, and raw materials inventories each scored 55.8, 54.1, 52.8, and 54.3 points, indicating continued growing momentum.

“All five agriculture subsectors expanded during the month, with livestock posting the strongest growth,” the CBN report disclosed.