Kayode Tokede

As the world commemorates World Food Day 2025, Sterling Bank Limited, has reaffirmed its commitment to building a resilient, inclusive, and food-secure Africa.

This year’s World Food Day, themed, “Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future,” highlights the need for collective effort to ensure access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food for all, while promoting sustainable livelihoods and protecting the planet.

The theme, the bank said, underscores a truth that has guided its work in agriculture: Africa’s food destiny depends on shared responsibility between farmers, financiers, policymakers, and communities.

Speaking on the occasion, Group Head, Agriculture at Sterling Bank, Olushola Obikanye,  emphasised the urgency of partnership-driven solutions to transform Africa’s food systems.

“The 2025 World Food Day theme captures exactly what Africa needs right now: collaboration. No single institution or government can fix food insecurity alone. We must work hand in hand with financial institutions, technology providers, farmers, development partners, and other key stakeholders to create a future where hunger is history.”

“At Sterling Bank, we’ve seen what’s possible when partnerships align with purpose. Our commitment goes beyond financing as we are helping to build an ecosystem where farmers have access to credit, markets, and the knowledge they need to thrive. That is how we can produce better food, improve nutrition, and secure a better future for generations to come.”

“Food security must move from being a national aspiration to a continental priority. We are sitting on 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, yet Africa still imports billions of dollars’ worth of food annually. This paradox can only change through action, investment, innovation, and inclusion,” he said.

Over the past decade, Sterling Bank has emerged as one of Nigeria’s foremost financiers of agricultural development, channeling funding and expertise into projects that strengthen food systems, enhance productivity, and empower communities.

The Bank has disbursed over N500 billion in loans to commercial farmers and more than $300 million to support agricultural value chain actors across the country. In 2022, it launched SWAY AgFin, a digital platform that has since enabled over 25,500 youth and women farmers to access financing and market opportunities.

Obikanye noted that these achievements are a product of Sterling Bank’s deliberate focus on long-term agricultural transformation.

“Our strategy is built on three pillars: empowerment, innovation, and sustainability. We are empowering farmers through finance, innovating through technology, and promoting sustainability through climate-smart agriculture. The result is not just better yields, it’s better livelihoods and stronger communities.”