Stakeholders Seek FG’s Intervention In BoI, BoA’s Interest Rate On Devt Initiatives

Agriculture stakeholders have charged federal government to prevail on the management of Bank of Industry (BoI) and Bank of Agriculture (BoA) to assist Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) with lower interest rate on their development finance initiatives.
Speaking during a panel session in the 2025 First Bank Agriculture Exhibition which took place in Lagos, they pointed out that the inability to access funds due to high interest rate has continued to be a major challenge confronting small and medium enterprises, thus, dragging back agricultural growth.
On his part, the minister of agriculture and food security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, said Nigeria spends 10 billion dollars annually on agro-imports, including wheat and fish.
The minister, who was represented by the special adviser, Mr Ibrahim Alkali, reiterated that, “President Tinubu’s administration has made it clear that food sovereignty is the goal. Nigeria must not only feed itself, but to do on its own terms, free from excessive dependency on imports.” He decried the rising rate of agro-imports, stressing the need for more financing of agro activities to boost local exports.
He described lack of finance as another obstacle, charging both BoI and BoA to assist farmers by making single-digit interest loan available.