A Germany-funded agricultural finance project has facilitated the disbursement of €53.9 million, approximately N61 billion, to more than 101,000 farmers and agribusinesses across Nigeria over eight years.
The Global Project Promotion of Agricultural Finance for Agri-based Enterprises in Rural Areas, known as GP AgFin Nigeria, disclosed this at its national close-out conference in Abuja, according to a statement made available to media on Sunday.
The project was commissioned and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ.
Implemented between 2018 and 2026 across 10 states, GP AgFin supported six agricultural value chains, including maize, rice, cassava, Irish potato, poultry and aquaculture.
According to the project, 101,449 farmers and agribusinesses accessed tailored financial products and services, while 150,300 financial transactions were recorded by partner financial institutions.
It added that 22 agricultural financial products were developed and piloted, with 19 permanently integrated into the portfolios of partner financial institutions without continued GIZ funding.
Speaking at the event, the 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 address, the 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 said financing must translate into higher productivity, improved incomes, employment, food security and sustainable economic development.
Ononugbo called for agricultural financial products to be tailored to specific value chains, noting that the financing needs of rice farmers differed from those of poultry producers, fish farmers, processors and aggregators.
He also advocated greater use of agricultural insurance, credit guarantees, warehouse receipt systems, blended finance and digital systems to manage risks and expand lending to the sector.
The CBN official further 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.
Meanwhile, GP AgFin said 21,128 farmers and agribusiness managers had completed financial literacy training under the project. It said women accounted for 53 per cent of demand-side training participants, while young people represented 39 per cent.
The project, which is scheduled to formally conclude in October 2026, said its knowledge, partnerships and financial products would continue to support the development of agricultural finance in Nigeria beyond its implementation period.
