NIRSAL reaches ₦70bn commercial agriculture funding in Nigeria by Q3 2025
The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) has achieved a major breakthrough in agricultural finance, facilitating over ₦70 billion in commercial funding for agribusinesses by Q3 2025. This marks the institution’s strongest annual performance since its launch in 2013.
NIRSAL’s intervention comes at a critical moment. Bank lending to agriculture had dropped from 6.18% in 2022 to 4.82% in 2024, while sector growth slowed from 2.5% to 1.7%. Thanks to NIRSAL’s strategic push, agriculture’s share of bank lending has rebounded to 5.33% as of May 2025, signaling renewed confidence in the sector.
Of the ₦70bn facilitated, 32% supported value-added commodity exports, including grains, cocoa, shea, and livestock. This aligns with Nigeria’s broader goals of boosting agricultural exports, improving trade balance, and strengthening food security.
NIRSAL’s CEO, Sa’ad Hamidu, emphasized the significance of the milestone: “₦70 billion may seem modest, but it proves agriculture can be commercially and sustainably financed. With the right mix of capital, technical support, and risk-sharing, Nigeria’s agribusiness sector can thrive globally.”
Hamidu expressed confidence in reaching the ₦150 billion target by year-end, noting that peak demand for credit typically rises during harvest and input stocking seasons.
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Under its revamped strategy, NIRSAL deployed: Value chain modelling tools, technical support for agribusinesses and banks, and Robust risk-sharing frameworks.
These efforts have restored lender confidence and attracted new players into the sector, including two newly licensed banks
To deepen impact; 1,100 bank staff received training on agricultural lending, while 450 value chain actors were trained in feedlot management, commodity export, and climate finance.
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NIRSAL is also deepening its digital innovation and climate finance strategy by building the LandBank Portal, a digital ecosystem connecting stakeholders across research, production, and markets. The portal will deliver data-driven insights for investors and policymakers, helping identify opportunities and reduce risk.
Also, in a move toward climate-resilient agriculture, NIRSAL partnered with the Rural Electrification Agency to deploy off-grid power to rural processing hubs, supporting Nigeria’s ambition to become a $1 trillion economy.