Lagos: The British International Investment (BII), the United Kingdom’s development finance institution, has committed $7.5 million to the Nigerian agri-tech platform, Babban Gona. The British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Mr. Jonny Baxter, announced this initiative during a news conference on Tuesday, highlighting the investment’s aim to bolster food security and climate resilience for smallholder farmers in Northern Nigeria.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the investment will tackle critical challenges that smallholder farmers face, such as limited access to finance, quality inputs, agronomic training, and reliable markets. Despite Northern Nigeria producing up to 60 percent of the country’s maize, low productivity and climate threats like floods and droughts hinder smallholder farmers’ progress. Baxter noted that these issues lead to post-harvest losses of up to 30 percent, which jeopardizes yields, incomes, and exacerbates food insecurity in the region.
Babban Gona is designed to surmount thes
e structural obstacles by offering comprehensive end-to-end services for smallholders via its Artificial Intelligence-powered platform. The services include high-quality agricultural inputs, financial credit, training on climate-smart practices, and assistance with harvest, storage, and market access. Baxter emphasized that Babban Gona’s franchise model would empower top farmers to establish micro-enterprises providing inputs and financing, thus enabling them to scale and access local bank funding.
The model is expected to enhance yields, incomes, and climate resilience for approximately 140,000 smallholder farmers in Northern Nigeria by 2029. A crucial aspect of the investment is building smallholders’ climate resilience. Babban Gona’s services include climate-smart agricultural inputs, such as drought-resistant seeds and multi-peril area yield insurance, which help farmers recover from climate shocks. This investment aligns with BII’s mandate to support rural communities in underserved markets, building on
previous investments in innovative agricultural companies like AgDevCo and Johnvents.
UK Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Florence Eshalomi, expressed pride in collaborating with BII to announce the $7.5 million investment in Babban Gona, which aims to transform smallholder agriculture in Nigeria. She explained that the investment would scale an innovative, tech-enabled model to provide farmers access to finance, training, and services intended to boost yields, increase incomes, and enhance climate resilience. Eshalomi noted that from early-stage UK support through Propcom Maikarfi to the latest milestone investment, Babban Gona’s growth exemplifies the potential of investing in Nigeria’s agricultural future. She emphasized the partnership underscores the UK-Nigeria commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth.
Babban Gona’s Managing Director, Kola Masha, commented on the British government’s critical role in the company’s journey, starting as the first institutional investor in its 2013 public debt raise. Masha h
ighlighted that over a decade later, British International Investment’s decision to commit an amount ten times larger reinforces their shared vision of improving smallholder farmers’ lives. He expressed excitement about partnering with BII in the next phase of Babban Gona’s journey and the ambition to become one of the world’s most impactful businesses.