A German-funded agricultural finance programme has facilitated the disbursement of €53.9 million, about N61 billion, to over 101,000 farmers and agribusinesses in Nigeria in eight years.
The Global Project Promotion of Agricultural Finance for Agri based Enterprises in Rural Areas, GP AgFin Nigeria, disclosed this at its national close out conference in Abuja.
The project was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented by GIZ.
Implemented from 2018 to 2026 across 10 states, GP AgFin supported six value chains including maize, rice, cassava, Irish potato, poultry and aquaculture.
According to the organisers, 101,449 farmers and agribusinesses accessed tailored financial products, with 150,300 financial transactions recorded by partner financial institutions.
They said 22 agric finance products were developed and piloted, with 19 fully integrated into the portfolios of partner banks and microfinance institutions without continued GIZ support.
Speaking at the event, Cluster Coordinator for Rural Development and Agriculture, GIZ Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dr Andrea Ruediger, said the project had demonstrated that access to finance was critical to unlocking agricultural potential.
“A farmer trained in good agricultural practices, connected to a market and given quality seeds and fertiliser can do very little without finance. Finance is the activating element,” Ruediger said.
She said the project had also changed how financial institutions understood agricultural production cycles, value chain risks and the financial needs of farmers.
“What GP AgFin has demonstrated is a model. It shows that the finance gap in Nigerian agriculture is not a permanent condition; it is a solvable problem,” she added.
In his keynote, Deputy Director and Special Assistant, Office of the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Michael Ononugbo, said agricultural finance should be measured by its impact rather than the volume of credit disbursed.
“Access opens doors, but impact changes lives,” Ononugbo said.
He also called for increased investment in agricultural research, saying innovation was critical to improving productivity.
“Without research, we risk repeatedly applying familiar solutions while expecting different outcomes,” he said.
GP AgFin said 21,128 farmers and agribusiness managers completed financial literacy training under the programme, with women accounting for 53 per cent of participants and youths 39 per cent.
The project will formally end in October 2026, but its organisers say its knowledge, partnerships and products will continue to support agric finance in Nigeria.
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