The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) in collaboration with DalaHill Law Practice has taken a major step towards climate focused agricultural financing with the signing of a Mutual Accountability Framework for a new initiative supported by the African Climate Foundation.
The agreement, valued at 100,000 dollars, was formalised during a kickoff ceremony held at the BoA headquarters in Abuja. It sets out the obligations, responsibilities and shared commitments guiding the implementation of the climate finance programme.
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The document was executed by the Managing Director of BoA, Ayo Sotinrin, and DalaHill’s Managing Associate, Mohammed Hamza.
The project is aimed at repositioning the Bank of Agriculture to better respond to climate risks and sustainability demands within Nigeria’s agricultural finance space. A core component of the programme is the creation of a Clean Energy Delivery and Innovation Unit, which will serve as a dedicated structure for embedding environmental data, climate risk assessment and sustainability principles into the bank’s policies, operations and investment decisions.
Beyond institutional reforms, the initiative will also support the development of clean energy access systems and climate finance development frameworks.
These efforts are expected to produce a pipeline of viable agricultural projects designed to attract both local and international investment into climate aligned farming and agribusiness ventures.
Stakeholders believe the programme could play a role in narrowing Nigeria’s estimated 247.3 billion dollar financing gap required for the country’s green energy transition, particularly within the agriculture sector which remains highly vulnerable to climate shocks.
Speaking at the event, Mohammed Hamza described the partnership as a timely intervention in the country’s evolving climate and agricultural finance landscape.
He said DalaHill is providing advisory support through a multidisciplinary technical team to help BoA build the capacity required to structure scalable and investment ready agricultural projects that meet global climate finance standards.
Hamza also noted that while climate funding has largely focused on renewable energy, aligning agriculture with climate finance objectives is essential for achieving broader national transition goals. He added that the programme represents the first climate finance grant by the African Climate Foundation in Nigeria that places agriculture at its centre.
In his remarks, Sotinrin welcomed the partnership and acknowledged long standing structural challenges affecting agricultural finance in the country. He said the initiative would help the bank attract specialised expertise, strategic funding and stronger international attention needed to drive lasting reforms.
He further explained that the project fits into the Federal Government’s wider climate and sustainability agenda, pointing to Nigeria’s active participation at a global climate sustainability conference currently taking place in Abu Dhabi. Sotinrin also referenced recent government support for the bank, including presidential approval granted in October 2024 for a one billion dollar recapitalisation programme to strengthen BoA’s development financing capacity.
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