German Project Channels ₦61bn to Over 100,000 Nigerian Farmers, Agribusinesses

News in Brief:

— Germany-funded GP AgFin project facilitated about €53.9 million (₦61 billion) in agricultural financing for over 101,000 Nigerian farmers and agribusinesses.

— The project supported six value chains across 10 states, while developing tailored financial products to improve access to agricultural finance.

About 101,000 farmers and agribusinesses across Nigeria have benefited from €53.9 million (about ₦61 billion) in financing facilitated by the Global Project Promotion of Agricultural Finance for Agri-based Enterprises in Rural Areas (GP AgFin Nigeria).

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development financed the agricultural finance project, which ran for more than eight years. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a German federal enterprise that supports international development, implemented the project on behalf of the German government.

Between 2018 and 2026, GP AgFin supported six agricultural value chains: maize, rice, cassava, Irish potato, poultry and aquaculture, across 10 states.

According to details presented at the project’s national close-out conference in Abuja over the weekend, beneficiaries accessed tailored financial products and services, while partner financial institutions recorded 150,300 financial transactions.

Project Develops Agricultural Finance Products

GP AgFin announced that it developed and piloted 22 agricultural financial products, with 19 eventually integrated sustainably into the portfolios of partner financial institutions. This means that they are expected to continue without GIZ funding.

Dr Andrea Ruediger, GIZ Nigeria and ECOWAS Cluster Coordinator for Rural Development and Agriculture, declared that Nigerian farmers need access to finance to unleash their potential. Even with training, quality inputs and market connections, farmers will still struggle without adequate financing, she added.

The project helped Nigerian financial institutions understand agricultural production cycles, value-chain risks and farmers’ financial needs. It also provided financial literacy training to 21,128 farmers and agribusiness managers, with women making up more than half of the demand-side training participants and young people represented just under 40 per cent.

CBN Calls for Impact-Focused Agricultural Lending

Dr Michael Ononugbo, Deputy Director and Special Assistant in the Office of the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, Central Bank of Nigeria, stated that agricultural finance should be assessed by its impact rather than the volume of credit disbursed.

He called for special financing for individual value chains and greater use of agricultural insurance, credit guarantees, warehouse receipt systems, blended finance and digital tools to manage lending risks.

Ononugbo also urged increased investment in agricultural research to improve productivity.

Although GP AgFin concludes in October 2026, it does not expect its partnerships, knowledge and financial products to end.