Nigeria wheat expansion falters as AfDB funds sit undisbursed

Nigeria’s drive to expand domestic wheat production has hit a significant setback after $134 million approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) failed to reach intended beneficiaries due to delays involving the Ministry of Finance.

The undisbursed funds were earmarked to support wheat cultivation across key growing zones as part of a broader government push to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on imported wheat and improve domestic food security.

Stakeholders have raised alarm that the prolonged funding gap could cause farmers to miss critical planting windows, with direct consequences for expected output volumes during the current agricultural cycle. In Nigeria, timing is central to farm productivity, a delayed planting season typically translates to reduced harvests and higher post-season supply shortfalls.

The NAGS-AP initiative, backed by the AfDB, was designed to improve smallholder farmers’ access to agricultural inputs and financing, positioning it as a key instrument in Nigeria’s food sufficiency agenda. The AfDB is a multilateral development finance institution that provides concessional loans and grants to support economic growth across the continent.

Despite the approvals, the funds remain undisbursed money that has been sanctioned but not yet released to the project or its beneficiaries, leaving farmers without the capital needed to scale up operations ahead of the season.

Nigeria remains one of Africa’s largest wheat importers, making the success of local production programmes critical to shielding consumers from volatile global commodity prices and foreign exchange pressures that drive up the cost of imported grain.