Ayo Sontirin, managing director/chief executive officer of the Bank of Agriculture, BOA, in this exclusive interview with Businessday’s, Ruth Tene Natsa and Michael Godwin (BDTV), has outlined an ambitious reform agenda aimed at repositioning the institution as Nigeria’s foremost development finance engine for agricultural transformation, food security and economic diversification. He unveils the bank reform agenda. Mechanisation strategy and digital transformation drive are aimed at creating Africa’s biggest agricultural bank…excerpts
Kindly share with us who Ayo Sotirin is.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak on your platform. My name is Ayo Sotirin, and I currently serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Agriculture.
I have a finance major and three finance-related degrees, alongside a degree in business management. I obtained an MBA from Oxford University and also completed my first degree in management and business studies at Oxford. Over the years, I have built a career that spans finance, infrastructure development, public policy and agriculture.
My professional journey began in the United Kingdom, where I worked with the Royal Bank of Scotland and later with Deutsche Bank. I also worked in Guernsey, Jersey and Gibraltar, gaining exposure to global financial systems. Subsequently, I joined the UK government, working with the Environment Agency under the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA, which provided deep insight into public-sector policy implementation, particularly in agriculture and environmental sustainability.
In Nigeria, I served as special adviser to one of the ministers in the FCT, worked as a consultant for the World Bank and later operated within the presidency, contributing to infrastructure development, finance and policy coordination. I also worked extensively with the UK Department for International Development, now the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, on the Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility, where I specialised in infrastructure finance and project development.
In the private sector, I founded investment firms with strong agricultural portfolios. Today, I own and manage large-scale farms across multiple states, including oil palm plantations, poultry farms producing over 100,000 broiler birds every seven weeks, aquaculture operations producing 100,000 fingerlings per cycle, and extensive cassava processing facilities. These ventures span several states, including Kogi, Kwara, Ondo and others, reflecting my passion for agricultural development.
Fantastic profile. Can you share with the world what you met on the ground on your resumption as the CEO at the BOA?
The Bank of Agriculture was originally established as a development finance institution to drive agricultural growth. It emerged from the amalgamation of several legacy institutions, including the Peoples Bank, Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP) and the National Agricultural and Cooperative Bank. The idea was to create a strong, well-capitalised bank capable of financing a sector that contributes significantly to Nigeria’s GDP and employs over 80 per cent of the rural population.
However, for nearly two decades, the bank suffered neglect. Staff salaries became extremely low, infrastructure deteriorated, technology systems became obsolete, and the institution gradually lost relevance. At some point, middle-level managers earned less than ₦100,000 monthly, making motivation and productivity extremely difficult.
Additionally, successive administrations created parallel intervention schemes outside the bank, especially through the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, effectively sidelining BOA. As a result, the bank accumulated massive non-performing loans and struggled operationally.
This administration, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, has clearly prioritised agriculture as a strategic national sector. Agriculture is now seen as second only to security in national importance, particularly in addressing poverty, unemployment, food insecurity and economic diversification. This renewed focus is what has driven the recapitalisation and restructuring of the bank.
Speaking on the ₦1.5 trillion recapitalisation, how would you rate the government’s commitment to delivering on this mandate?
The federal government has approved a ₦1.5 trillion recapitalisation plan for the BOA, translating to over $1.1 billion. This decision reflects the government’s recognition of agriculture as a critical tool for lifting Nigerians out of multidimensional poverty.
While fiscal pressures have slowed the pace of fund releases, the commitment remains firm. The administration understands that a strong agricultural finance institution is necessary to support farmers, agribusinesses, exporters and processors across the value chain.
Beyond recapitalisation, we have received intervention funds that enabled us to support more than two million smallholder farmers, each cultivating between 0.5 and one hectare. These farmers produce nearly 90 percent of Nigeria’s food supply, making their productivity essential to national food security.
Our long-term target is to scale BOA’s capital base to ₦3 trillion, enabling us to provide affordable, long-tenor financing, mobilise blended finance, access climate funds and attract international capital.
What strategies have you adopted to achieve your goals?
We adopted what we call the three-R strategy, which focuses on restructuring, recapitalisation and repositioning.
Restructuring involves a complete overhaul of internal processes, staffing and governance structures. We are introducing new talent, implementing voluntary exit schemes, redefining operational workflows and modernising risk management systems.
Recapitalization focuses on building a strong balance sheet that supports sustainable lending, intervention programmes and private-sector partnerships.
Repositioning is about transforming BOA into a technology-driven, customer-focused development finance institution capable of competing with modern banks while maintaining its developmental mandate.
These reforms are designed to create a resilient, transparent and impactful institution.
How far would you say you have come in recovering some of the non-performing loans, and what is the state of your balance sheet currently?
Loan recovery became a top priority immediately after my appointment in May 2025. We launched aggressive recovery campaigns nationwide, publishing lists of chronic defaulters, issuing repayment notices and collaborating with credit bureaus and regulatory agencies.
So far, we have recovered over 35 per cent of non-performing loans. Legacy impaired loans accounted for about 16 per cent of our portfolio, while facilities linked to the ANCHOR BORROWERS PROGRAMME represented nearly 60 per cent of our NPL exposure.
We are working closely with the CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA, the EFCC, the ICPC and the DSS to recover these funds. Our target is to reduce legacy NPLs to below five per cent, ensuring a clean and healthy balance sheet that supports sustainable lending growth.
Just recently, the bank launched the nationwide mechanisation boost with over 2000 tractors. How do smallholder farmers, who make up as high as 80% of the nation’s food production, benefit from this?
One of the administration’s flagship initiatives is the largest mechanisation programme in Africa, involving investment exceeding $1 billion. This programme includes tractor acquisition, service centres and the establishment of a tractor assembly plant in Nigeria.
Our approach prioritizes smallholder farmers rather than large-scale operators. Rather than allocating tractors directly to individuals, we introduced a mechanisation service provider model. Under this model, one tractor can mechanise 600 hectares annually, serving hundreds of small farms clustered geographically.
With 2,000 tractors, we can mechanise 1.2 million hectares, benefiting 1.2 million farmers. This approach ensures inclusivity, cost efficiency and sustainability. The second phase will double the fleet to 4,000 tractors, covering 2.4 million hectares.
This model allows tractors to pay for themselves, generating revenue through service provision, which then supports further expansion.
Does the bank have any priority crops, and what is the strategy to ensure food security?
While BOA is value-chain agnostic, we prioritize crops that are critical to national food security. These include maize, rice, cassava, soybean, sorghum, millet and cowpea.
Our strategy is to drive productivity, expand irrigation, introduce improved seed varieties and promote soil-specific fertiliser blends. These interventions will significantly reduce production costs, improve yields and stabilise food prices.
Beyond domestic supply, we aim to build export capacity and strengthen strategic grain reserves, ensuring food availability during supply shocks.
What digital transformations have been adopted to enhance the bank’s performance?
One of our most significant achievements has been the complete digital overhaul of BOA.
We deployed a new core banking platform, launched mobile and internet banking systems, integrated electronic wallets, introduced POS networks and upgraded payment infrastructure. Farmers can now open accounts remotely, access loans, receive intervention funds, make payments, purchase inputs and receive extension support digitally.
We introduced the BOA multipurpose card, embedded with NIN, BVN and biometric data. The card enables financial transactions, subsidy redemption, input distribution and identity verification, ensuring transparency and eliminating leakages.
Today, farmers can transact seamlessly without visiting physical branches, while our POS agents provide last-mile financial services across rural communities.
What inclusive measures have you taken?
We are developing a permanent national farmer and farm registry, capturing biometric data, farm GPS coordinates, household location, financial history, NIN and BVN.
This registry will serve as the backbone of Nigeria’s agricultural financing architecture, ensuring accurate targeting of subsidies, credit and intervention programmes. It eliminates duplication, fraud and inefficiencies that plagued earlier initiatives.
Through this system, every farmer will have a unique digital identity, enabling seamless access to finance, insurance, pensions and extension services.
What measures are in place to partner with other agencies and developmental partners?
BOA is working closely with all MDAs, including the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Livestock Development and Budget and National Development, respectively. We are also aligning with security agencies to align agricultural financing with national priorities.
We also collaborate with development partners such as the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), as well as climate finance institutions and global commodity buyers.
We are also exploring contract farming models, enabling Nigeria to produce export-grade commodities such as cocoa, cassava, rice and soybeans for international markets. This strategy positions agriculture as a major foreign exchange earner.
Share your long-term vision for the bank?
In the next three years, I envision the Bank of Agriculture becoming Nigeria’s largest bank, with a $10 to $20 billion balance sheet and over 50 million customers. Beyond Nigeria, we aim to evolve into the Bank of Agriculture for Africa, supporting agricultural financing, mechanisation, food security and trade across the continent. Our mission is to tackle food insecurity, reduce poverty, create jobs, promote exports and diversify Nigeria’s economy beyond oil.
When your work is done, what legacies would you like to be remembered for?
Legacy, to me, is not about personal recognition. It is about contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s progress. If agriculture becomes the engine that lifts millions out of poverty, secures the food supply, generates employment and strengthens our economy, then our work is complete.
Thank you so much for your time!
It’s been an absolute pleasure.
