The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to expand access to affordable credit, modern agricultural machinery, and guaranteed market off-takers for women farmers across Nigeria. 

Executed under the Renewed Hope Women Agro-Value Expansion (RH-WAVE) Programme, the strategic partnership aims to transition three million women from subsistence farming into commercial agribusinesses over the next three to five years.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Abuja, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, stated that the initiative directly addresses the systemic exclusion of women from formal financial systems. 

Designed in alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the RH-WAVE framework operates across three core pillars: providing concessional agricultural loans at single-digit interest rates, establishing women-led agricultural equipment hubs, and securing market access through structured produce aggregation. 

The pilot implementation will launch across seven initial states, Plateau, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, and Nasarawa, before expanding nationwide.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Agriculture, Mr Ayodeji Sotinrin, confirmed that the institution will initially onboard 200,000 women farmers during the foundational phase. 

Beneficiaries will receive single-digit interest loans, high-yield seeds, modern farm tools, and subsidised tractor allocations accompanied by flexible repayment schedules.

Sotinrin explained that credit distribution, monitoring, and recovery will be channelled through structured Farmer Aggregation Companies to ensure financial discipline, mitigate default risks, and build a sustainable credit model for women in agriculture.

Source: Radio Nigeria