The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced a $2.9 billion investment in agriculture development for Nigeria and several other African countries. This commitment was made by AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, in a statement on the bank’s website, coinciding with its annual meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.
Adesina highlighted that since the 2023 summit, six African countries, including Nigeria, have established presidential-level councils to drive the implementation of the Country Food and Agriculture Delivery Compacts. These compacts, set during the summit, aim to mobilize government resources, development partners, and private sector financing to achieve food security.
The statement noted that Presidential Councils have begun operations in Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Zambia. Councils in other countries, including Benin, Ethiopia, and Ghana, are in the process of being operationalized. At the previous summit, $72 billion was mobilized for agriculture development across Africa. The AfDB has now committed $2.9 billion to support these compacts and appointed two Special Envoys to coordinate and support the Presidential Delivery Councils.
Adesina identified climate change, food price volatility, and geopolitical shocks as key obstacles to Africa’s agricultural development. He emphasized the bank’s commitment to investing $25 billion over ten years to increase food production and enhance agricultural resilience in Africa.
For the envisioned agricultural transformation to materialize, Adesina stressed the need for effective collaboration among stakeholders, increased agricultural productivity, expanded private sector financing, more young farmers, and significant policy support to de-risk agriculture financing.
According to the AfDB, Nigeria has 70.8 million hectares of agricultural land in diverse agroecological zones, offering significant potential for food production. The bank sees Nigeria’s agricultural land as a major market within the country and across West Africa, potentially attracting financial inflows from around 400 million people. It urged Nigeria to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to boost intra-African trade.
The AfDB, established 60 years ago, plays a leading role in financially supporting the continent’s transformation. Under the leadership of Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, a Nigerian, the bank’s funding for development projects in Nigeria is around $4.4 billion.