BUK Professor Advocates Inclusive Microfinance to Tackle Food Insecurity, Poverty
Professor Muhammad Ahmad Makarfi of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Bayero University, Kano (BUK), has identified inclusive microfinance as a critical pathway to addressing food insecurity and poverty in Nigeria.
Makarfi made the recommendation while delivering the university’s 64th Professorial Lecture, titled “Innovative Options for Nigeria’s Food Security and Poverty Alleviation: The Microfinance Pathway to Sustainable Development,” at the CBN Centre of Excellence on October 14, 2026.
He noted that despite Nigeria’s vast agricultural resources, limited access to affordable financing, insecurity, climate change, inadequate infrastructure and low agricultural productivity continued to undermine food production and rural livelihoods.
The professor stressed that improving access to agricultural finance, particularly for smallholder farmers, would stimulate investment, increase productivity and strengthen national food security.
Reviewing Nigeria’s agricultural financing policies and interventions, Makarfi highlighted the need for innovative credit delivery systems, including microfinance institutions and Islamic finance models, to make funding more accessible, affordable and sustainable for farmers.
In his recommendations, he called for policies that prioritise increased domestic agricultural production through improved access to finance, modern technologies, quality agricultural inputs and markets.
He also advocated strengthening microfinance institutions, expanding farmer-friendly financing mechanisms and creating an enabling environment to encourage investment across the agricultural value chain.
According to him, these measures would enhance agricultural productivity, improve livelihoods, reduce poverty and accelerate Nigeria’s sustainable development.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Professor Haruna Musa, FSI, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Professor Ahmad Muhammad Tsauni, commended the lecturer for addressing critical issues relating to food insecurity, livelihoods and agricultural development.
The Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Professor Aminu Sulaiman, who presented the lecturer’s citation, disclosed that Makarfi had published more than 150 local and international works, contributed 10 book chapters and authored eight books.
Professor Mahmoud Ibrahim Daneji, who represented the Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, delivered the vote of thanks.
BUK Professor Advocates Inclusive Microfinance to Tackle Food Insecurity, Poverty