The World Bank is expected to approve a new $500 million loan to Nigeria next month to enhance agricultural productivity and strengthen key value chains across participating states.
Official project documents indicate that the loan’s anticipated approval date is March 30, 2026. The facility, fully funded through the World Bank’s concessional lending arm, the International Development Association, will be provided via an IDA credit valued at $500 million.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria will serve as the borrower, with implementation overseen by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in partnership with state governments involved in the project.
Designed to increase smallholder productivity and strengthen targeted agricultural value chains, the project also aims to create more and better jobs while addressing food and nutrition insecurity—challenges the World Bank cites as among Nigeria’s most pressing development issues.
The loan will be deployed across four main components:
- Integrating smallholder farmers into competitive value chains.
- Modernizing smallholder production systems.
- Strengthening policy frameworks and the enabling environment to attract private investment in agricultural input markets.
- Ensuring effective project coordination, monitoring, and evaluation.
The proposed facility comes amid a continued rise in Nigeria’s external debt. Data show that funding from the International Development Association rose by $1.9 billion over one year, reaching $18.7 billion as of December 31, 2025. According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s total external debt stood at $46.98 billion as of June 30, 2025, with the World Bank Group accounting for $19.39 billion of that total.