The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) announced it has facilitated over ₦70 billion in commercial financing for agribusiness by Q3 2025 its strongest performance to date. NIRSAL Plc) has facilitated over N70 billion in commercial financing for agribusinesses as of the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, marking its strongest annual performance since inception. In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, the organisation said it remains confident of achieving its N150 billion target for 2025, reflecting renewed momentum in agricultural lending and investor confidence in the sector. According to NIRSAL, since it began operations in 2013, the latest result accounts for nearly a quarter of its cumulative N270 billion facilitated for agriculture and agribusiness to date. The institution said this milestone represents “an achievement that reflects the impact of NIRSAL’s revamped strategy under its new Board and Executive Management. The statement observed that this turnaround comes at a crucial time when bank lending to agriculture had been in steady decline. “Bank lending to agriculture fell from 6.18 per cent of aggregate lending in 2022 to 4.82 per cent in 2024, while sectoral growth slowed from 2.5 per cent to 1.7 per cent within the same period,” it said. NIRSAL noted that the application of its signature tools for value chain modelling, alongside targeted technical support and risk-sharing frameworks has helped restore lender confidence in agribusiness financing. 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,” the statement added. On impact, the institution said the financing surge has led to a tangible rise in local production and improved trade performance. “There has been an improvement in local production across key commodities and a positive balance of trade for agriculture, with over 32 per cent of the facilitated sum directly supporting value-added commodity export. Most notably, agriculture’s share of bank lending has risen again to 5.33 per cent as of May 2025, reflecting renewed interest from financiers,” it stated. NIRSAL also revealed that two newly licensed banks have entered the agricultural finance space relying on its frameworks, contributing to the N70 billion already facilitated this year. Commenting on the milestone, NIRSAL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sa’ad Hamidu, said the result demonstrates the viability of sustainable agricultural financing. “N70 billion may appear modest compared to the size of Nigeria’s agricultural financing needs, but the significance is profound. It proves that agriculture can be commercially and sustainably finance
