Credit support for Nigeria’s agriculture sector received a major lift in 2025 as the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Plc guaranteed agricultural and agribusiness loans valued at more than ₦100 billion across the country.
The institution, which was set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to expand access to finance in agriculture, disclosed the development in a statement issued in Abuja. According to NIRSAL, the figure represents the highest volume of credit guarantees facilitated by the organisation in a single year since its establishment.
NIRSAL explained that the guarantees enabled partner financial institutions to provide funding for agricultural value-chain activities that would ordinarily fall outside their risk tolerance. These include primary production, input supply, agro-processing, commodity export, storage, warehousing and logistics.
The institution said the milestone reflects its growing effectiveness in de-risking agricultural value chains, strengthening lenders’ confidence, improving access to finance for agribusinesses and deepening financial inclusion nationwide.
Managing Director of NIRSAL, Sa’ad Hamidu, described the achievement as evidence of the impact of structured risk-sharing models and strong collaboration with financial institutions. He noted that the performance also highlights the resilience and growth potential of Nigeria’s agribusiness sector.
Hamidu said NIRSAL remains focused on attracting more partners across the agrifinance value chain by promoting its value proposition for safe, profitable and sustainable investments in agriculture.
He further explained that NIRSAL’s partnerships with banks and other lending institutions have supported the expansion of on-balance-sheet agricultural portfolios, while its technical assistance programmes, field monitoring and project-mapping protocols continue to unlock financing opportunities across the agriculture-to-market continuum.
Reiterating NIRSAL’s role as a facilitator rather than a direct lender, Hamidu observed that although sufficient capital exists to transform Nigeria’s agriculture sector, perceived risks have continued to limit lending. He said the ₦100 billion guarantee milestone signals a shift from hesitation to growing confidence, driven by NIRSAL’s credit risk guarantees and robust risk-management frameworks.
According to him, financial institutions are increasingly relying on NIRSAL’s tools to mitigate risks, scale up agricultural lending, optimise capital deployment and achieve both commercial and development objectives. He added that the institution has so far signed 41 master agreements with counterparties committed to financing agriculture and agribusiness in Nigeria.
Hamidu also disclosed that NIRSAL has strengthened its positioning to mobilise alternative sources of finance into agricultural value chains. As a Delivery Partner to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for climate finance readiness, the institution is implementing nationwide capacity-building programmes and is optimistic about attracting significant climate finance inflows into the country.
On production expansion, the NIRSAL boss said lessons from previous national and sub-national smallholder financing schemes have helped refine programme management offerings for state governments, private agribusiness investors and cooperative-led production clusters. These include improved systems for farmer onboarding, capacity building, geo-mapping, soil testing and mechanisation support.
Looking ahead to 2026, Hamidu said NIRSAL remains committed to expanding its finance facilitation footprint, promoting climate-smart agriculture, strengthening sector resilience and improving the competitiveness of Nigeria’s agribusiness ecosystem.
He added that loans guaranteed by NIRSAL continue to perform strongly, with non-performing loan ratios reported to be as low as 0.8 per cent, reinforcing lender confidence in the institution’s risk-sharing model.