Nigeria, June 23 -- It is a leaping giant to get Nigeria to its role as West Africa's agricultural economic behemoth that the federal government, in a dramatic turn of events, has requested that the Bank of Agriculture be recapitalized to the eye-popping figure of N1.5 trillion and expended another N200 billion to specifically invest in agriculture projects nationwide.

It is one of the largest sums of money ever invested in the sector in recent Nigerian history.

Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, announced in Abuja during the reception of a strategic visit from a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture of The Gambia. The investment, he said, will shatter age-long credit ceilings to farmers, enhance food secur...