The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) has facilitated over ₦70 billion in commercial financing for agribusinesses across the country in the first nine months of 2025, marking one of its strongest performances since inception.

According to reports from Business Post and Prime Business Africa, the new financing represents nearly one-quarter of NIRSAL’s cumulative total of ₦270 billion in agricultural and agribusiness funding mobilized since 2013.

NIRSAL’s Managing Director stated that the achievement highlights the success of the organization’s risk-sharing framework, value-chain development model, and capacity-building initiatives that have helped restore lenders’ confidence in the agricultural sector.

This intervention comes at a time when agricultural lending from Nigerian banks had been on the decline falling from 6.18% of total lending in 2022 to 4.82% in 2024. However, with NIRSAL’s renewed engagement, the share of agricultural financing reportedly climbed to 5.33% as of May 2025.

Out of the ₦70 billion mobilized, more than 32% has been directed toward value-added commodity exports, including grains, cocoa, shea, and livestock. The funding has supported agribusiness projects nationwide, boosting productivity, value addition, and export capacity.

NIRSAL has also intensified efforts in capacity development, training over 1,100 bank officials on agricultural lending practices and 450 agribusiness stakeholders on feedlot management, export logistics, and climate finance.

With a year-end target of ₦150 billion in total agribusiness financing, analysts say NIRSAL is well on course to meet or exceed its 2025 goal.

Industry experts believe the new wave of funding will strengthen food security, enhance rural livelihoods, and diversify Nigeria’s economy by expanding the role of agriculture in non-oil revenue generation.