Nirsal Unlocks N70bn in Financing for Agriculture in 2025

• Strengthening Its Role in Supporting Food Security And Economic Growth

The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) has announced a remarkable rebound in its operations, which has resulted in the facilitation of overN70 billion in commercial financing for agribusiness as at Q3 2025, its strongest annual performance since inception.

In operation since 2013, this result represents nearly a quarter of the organisation’s cumulative N270 billion facilitated for agriculture and agribusiness to date, an achievement that underscores the impact of NIRSAL’s revamped strategy under its new Board and Executive Management.

The timing of this turnaround is critical: Bank lending to agriculture had been in steady decline, falling from 6.18% of aggregate lending in 2022 to 4.82% in 2024, while sectoral growth slowed from 2.5% to 1.7% within the same period.

By applying its signature tools for value chain modelling to address identified issues, providing technical support to agribusinesses and financial institutions, all while deploying its risk-sharing frameworks, NIRSAL has restored lender confidence thus channelling fresh funds into key value chains, including grains, cocoa, shea, and livestock.

In terms of impact, there has been an improvement in local production across key commodities and a positive balance of trade for agriculture, with over 32% of the facilitated sum directly supporting value-added commodity export.

Most notably, agriculture’s share of bank lending has risen again to 5.33% as of May 2025, reflecting renewed interest from financiers. Two newly licensed banks have also entered the sector relying on NIRSAL’s frameworks, contributing to the N70 billion facilitated so far this year.