By Ese Ufoma
Nigeria has one of the largest expanses of agricultural land in Africa, but until recently, much of that potential has remained undocumented or informally held. In 2026, as investors search for safer assets and policymakers push to boost food production, farmland is increasingly being bought, titled and packaged as a financial and commercial asset. This emerging trend, often described as “land banking”, is repositioning who controls agricultural land, how it is used, and who ultimately benefits from Nigeria’s agricultural resources.
Across the country, new investment models are emerging that treat farmland not just as land to farm, but as an asset to invest in for financial returns. Another development in farmland governance is the movement toward better land documentation and investment readiness. The Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, in partnership with agritech firms, is creating a Digital Agricultural Land Bank. This platform aims to catalogue and verify arable land, including legal titles, soil data and geospatial mapping to make it more accessible and attractive to investors both in Nigeria and abroad.
The drive for documented, bankable farmland comes in response to a long-standing challenge; unclear or informal land ownership has been a major impediment to agricultural investment. Industry groups like the Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) argue that without proper documentation and secure title, banks and investors remain unwilling to commit capital to large-scale farming projects. Verified land banks reduce risk for financiers, shorten project start up timelines and provide a platform for structured agricultural development.
Private companies and service providers are also positioning themselves to facilitate farmland transactions. Firms such as Wale Agro Services offer access to farmland in multiple states, often marketed with documentation support, land clearing and farm management services to prospective individual investors and agribusiness entrepreneurs. This reflects a broader shift in how agricultural land is being marketed and monetised.
However, the expansion of land banking and farmland investment is not without contention. There are documented cases of conflicts over land allocation, where state-level decisions about farmland use have sparked disputes with farmers or community groups. For example, cocoa farmers in Ondo State protested a private firm’s activities in forest reserve land they used, prompting official government statements denying unlawful land seizure.
At the same time, land insecurity continues to constrain smallholder farmers, particularly women. In Oyo State, insecurity around land leases and rising land costs are squeezing women farmers’ access to the farmland they depend on for food production and income, illustrating a dimension of land pressure that goes beyond corporate transactions.
The land banking race in Nigeria is still early, but its contours are becoming clearer; a blend of private investment schemes, land documentation efforts, government land allocation and evolving agribusiness models. How these trends are governed and regulated will shape not just who owns farmland, but how effectively the agricultural sector can deliver food security, rural development and economic growth in the years ahead.
