GIZ AGFIN SUPPORTS 101,000 FARMERS WITH N61BN FINANCING
By: Safiya Abdulrahim Dabban
More than 101,000 farmers across 10 states have received training and gained access to over N61 billion in financing under the GIZ Promotion of Agricultural Finance for Agri-based Enterprises in Rural Areas (AgFin) programme.
The Cluster Coordinator, Global Project Promotion of GIZ AgFin, Dr Andrea Ruediger, disclosed this in Abuja at the programme’s national close-out conference.
Ruediger said the programme, which began in 2018, worked with stakeholders to improve farmers’ access to finance and strengthen agricultural value chains.
She said the initiative developed 22 financial products, with 19 adopted by partner financial institutions. More than 40 trainers were also certified, while over 1,100 students of Federal Colleges of Agriculture received training in agricultural finance.
Ruediger said the programme demonstrated that Nigeria’s agricultural financing gap could be reduced through improved financial systems, innovative products and stronger links between farmers and financial institutions.
She called for continued investment in innovative financing and blended finance models to expand access to sustainable financial services for farmers.
The Special Assistant to the Deputy Director, Economic Policy, Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Michael Ononugno, commended the programme but noted that agriculture still receives less than five per cent of total credit, despite a significant increase in financing since 2017.
He called for financing models tailored to the needs of different agricultural value chains, saying access to finance could drive meaningful development in rural communities.
The German Embassy also reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s agricultural transformation.
The conference was themed, “Scaling Agricultural Finance in Nigeria: From Proven Models to Market Expansion.”