The Authorities Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) has entered strategic partnership with the Nigeria Incentive-Based mostly Threat Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc.) to strengthen threat administration and increase assist for the FarmerMoni initiative.
In response to GEEP, the partnership additionally goals to bolster the FarmerMoni ecosystem and advance the broader aims of the Nationwide Social Funding Programme Company (NSIPA).
Nationwide Programme Supervisor of GEEP, Mr Ibrahim Baba, disclosed this throughout a courtesy go to to NIRSAL’s Managing Director/CEO, Mr Saad Hamidu, in Abuja.
What the Programme Supervisor is saying
Baba defined that the assembly centered on enhancing sustainability and risk-management mechanisms for GEEP beneficiaries whereas creating stronger inter-agency synergies to assist smallholder farmers and enterprise empowerment nationwide.
He outlined precedence areas agreed upon by each events:
- Credit score threat ensures and co-financing: leveraging NIRSAL’s devices to de-risk lending to FarmerMoni beneficiaries.
- Information sharing and enumeration: aligning beneficiary information, bettering registration processes, and strengthening digital data.
- Capability constructing and technical help: joint coaching programmes to spice up productiveness, monetary literacy, and creditworthiness.
- Enter provide and market entry: facilitating linkages between beneficiaries, enter suppliers, off-takers, and market channels.
- Monitoring, analysis, and digital platforms: integrating frameworks and instruments to enhance oversight, transparency, and affect measurement.
“There is additionally coverage advocacy and regulatory alignment, driving coordinated engagement with stakeholders to make sure enabling environments for interventions.”
Delivering complete assist nationwide
Baba famous that the collaboration may mix NIRSAL’s insurance coverage and threat administration options with FarmerMoni’s grassroots distribution community to ship a complete package deal of credit score, inputs, coaching, and threat mitigation throughout Nigeria.
Responding, Hamidu reaffirmed NIRSAL’s dedication to the partnership, stating:
“We’re dedicated to combining risk-sharing merchandise, technical experience and market linkages to strengthen the FarmerMoni worth chain and increase sustainable entry to finance for smallholder farmers.”
Each events agreed to set up a joint technical working group to outline pilot actions, timelines, and an implementation plan, which can culminate in a proper Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
NIRSAL’s function in agricultural transformation
NIRSAL, a non-bank monetary establishment owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is designed to rework Nigerian agriculture by making it much less dangerous and extra enticing for business funding and lending.
The establishment de-risks the agricultural worth chain by providing risk-sharing, insurance coverage, and technical help to banks and agribusinesses, reasonably than instantly lending to farmers. Its aim is to spice up meals safety and drive financial progress.
What it’s best to know
Final yr, NIRSAL mentioned bank lending to Nigeria’s agricultural sector edged as much as 5.33% of whole credit score as of Might 2025, reversing a multi-year decline and signaling a cautious return of economic establishments to agribusiness.
The uptick follows a interval of stagnation, the place agriculture’s share of lending fell from 6.18% in 2022 to 4.82% in 2024, amid slowing sectoral progress and rising threat aversion.
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