NIRSAL Records ₦100bn in Agriculture Lending in 2025

News in Brief

-NIRSAL Plc approved over ₦100 billion in credit guarantees for 2025, a record-high annual total financing, enabling banks to fund production, exports and logistics in the agricultural sector.

-​The CBN-backed firm also won MSME Agrifinance Enabler of the Year, signed 41 lender pacts, and eyes bigger climate finance and resilience boosts in 2026.

The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Plc has revealed that it approved more than ₦100 billion credit guarantees, including loans and investments for agriculture and agribusiness in 2025. 

NIRSAL disclosed this milestone in a statement issued on Sunday, revealing that the record number marks the highest annual total financing to date of the lending institution since its establishment in 2013.

“This milestone, NIRSAL’s highest annual finance facilitated to date, demonstrates the institution’s continued success in de-risking agricultural value chains, improving access to finance for agribusinesses, strengthening lender confidence in Nigeria’s agriculture sector, and deepening financial inclusion,” the statement partly reads.

Financing Agro Exports, Processing and Production

The CBN-backed non-bank lending institution explained that by enabling partner financial institutions to extend credit to value chain activities, it helped agribusinesses that would otherwise fall outside their risk appetites get credit guarantees. The guarantees, which back loans extended by partner financial institutions rather than direct lending by NIRSAL, helped unlock financing for activities spanning commodity exports, agro-processing, input supply, primary production, storage, warehousing and logistics.

NIRSAL had earlier in November celebrated facilitating ₦80 billion for the agriculture sector in Nigeria. It has committed to a target of ₦150 billion before the end of 2025. While the funding target was not met, the institution recorded a significant impact in the agriculture sector for both agribusinesses and lenders.

In recognition of its role in structuring and de-risking agricultural transactions, NIRSAL received the MSME Agrifinance Enabler of the Year Award at the second edition of the MSME Finance & CEO Awards in Lagos.

Speaking on behalf of the Managing Director of NIRSAL, Sa’ad Hamidu, at the award ceremony, the Regional Head, South, Business Development Group, Akinola Baiyewu, said the accomplishment underscores the power of structured risk-sharing models, strong partnerships with financial institutions, and the resilience of Nigeria’s agribusiness entrepreneurs.

He noted that the organisation is concerned with expanding the impact of its work through partnership rather than the awards.

“We are not chasing after awards, but focused on drawing the attention of potential partners across the agrifinance value chain to NIRSAL’s value proposition for safe, profitable, and sustainable investments in Nigeria’s agriculture sector,” he said.

Mitigating Risk, Optimising Capital Deployment

According to Hamidu, financial institutions are increasingly relying on NIRSAL’s credit risk guarantees and value chain risk management tools for risk mitigation, enabling them to scale up agricultural portfolios, optimise capital deployment, and meet both commercial and development objectives. 

He said 2025 results reflected deepening collaboration and growing understanding of NIRSAL’s finance facilitation model, and wider acceptance of its credit risk guarantee. 

He revealed that to date, NIRSAL had signed 41 master agreements with counterparties committed to jointly financing agriculture and agribusiness in Nigeria. The institution also strengthened its strategic positioning for mobilising alternative finance into agricultural value chains. 

He pointed out that as a Delivery Partner to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for climate finance readiness, NIRSAL is further delivering extensive capacity development programmes nationwide. Thus, he is optimistic that Nigeria will secure sizeable climate finance inflows in the near future.

Hamidu noted that drawing from insights gained through past national and sub-national smallholder financing schemes, NIRSAL had refined its programme management offerings for sub-national governments, private agribusiness investors, and cooperative-led primary production clusters. This allowed for improved protocols for farmer onboarding, capacity-building, geo-mapping, soil testing, and mechanisation support to enhance production outcomes.

Looking ahead to 2026, NIRSAL stated that it plans to expand its finance facilitation footprint while deepening work on resilience and competitiveness across agricultural value chains. According to the CEO, NIRSAL’s journey is far from over but just beginning.

“We will continue to innovate, deepen partnerships, and scale solutions that reduce risks and unlock finance for Nigeria’s agriculture sector,” he said

“With the support of our Board of Directors and the dedication of our people, 2026 will see NIRSAL further scale its contribution towards agriculture transformation.”