NIRSAL Guarantees N100bn Loans to Boost Agriculture, Commits to Increased Financing in 2026

¶ Restates resolve to support climate-smart agriculture, deepen collaboration, others

James Emejo in Abuja

Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Plc, yesterday disclosed that it has approved credit guarantees for over N100 billion in loans and investments in agriculture and agribusinesses across the country.

It said the guarantees had enabled partner financial institutions to extend credit to value chain activities that would otherwise fall outside their risk appetites.

In a statement, the institution further reaffirmed its commitment to expanding its finance facilitation footprint, support climate-smart agriculture, strengthen sectoral resilience, and enhance the competitiveness of Nigeria’s agribusiness ecosystem in 2026.

NIRSAL is a Nigerian non-bank financial institution, established by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to de-risk agriculture lending, making it attractive for commercial finance by managing credit risks and offering support including risk guarantees and technical assistance to the agricultural value chain.

However, the historic guarantees this year represented its highest annual finance facilitated to date, demonstrating the institution’s continued success in de-risking agricultural value chains, improving access to finance for agribusinesses, strengthening lender confidence in the agriculture sector, and deepening financial inclusion.

In recognition of its efforts, NIRSAL received the MSME Agrifinance Enabler of the Year Award at the second edition of the MSME Finance and CEO Awards held recently in Lagos.

 The event celebrated innovation, resilience, and excellence in Nigeria’s MSME ecosystem, including NIRSAL’s ability to structure and de-risk agricultural transactions.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Managing Director/Chief Executive, NIRSAL, Sa’ad Hamidu, said the accomplishment underscored “the power of structured risk-sharing models, strong partnerships with financial institutions, and the resilience of Nigeria’s agribusiness entrepreneurs”.

Represented by its Regional Head, South, Business Development Group, Akinola Baiyewu, Hamidu noted that the institution was “not chasing after awards, but is 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”.

NIRSAL’s partnerships with commercial banks and other lending institutions supported critical activities across the agricultural value chain, including commodity export, agro-processing, input supply, primary production, storage, warehousing, and logistics. 

Also, its technical assistance programmes, field monitoring, and project mapping protocols continued to unlock opportunities for actors across the agriculture-to-market continuum.

The MD noted that while substantial financial capital exists to transform the country’s agriculture sector, the inherent risks in the value chains continued to discourage lending. 

He said NIRSAL’s financing milestone, therefore, reflected a major shift—from hesitation to increased confidence—driven largely by its credit risk guarantees and robust risk management frameworks, which reassured lenders and enabled them to expand their investments in agriculture.

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 and remained 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.

The NIRSAL boss said, “Our journey is far from over. In fact, it is only just beginning. We will continue to innovate, deepen partnerships, and scale solutions that reduce risks and unlock finance for Nigeria’s agriculture sector. 

“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.”