Bank credit extended to Nigeria’s agricultural sector expanded significantly from about N1.46 trillion at the end of 2021 to N3.81 trillion by January 2026, according to a report released in Akure on Monday, August 17, 2026, by SEC-licensed issuing house Regius Capital Limited. 

However, the report cautions that despite the sharp influx of capital, funding growth has not yet translated into a matching expansion in physical production capacity.

The report, titled Financing Nigeria’s Agriculture: What Five Years of Credit, Capital and Output Data Reveal, evaluated formal agricultural funding between 2021 and H1 2026 across commercial bank credit, capital market instruments, development finance interventions, and private equity. 

While identified agrifood capital-market issuances reached N1.73 trillion and agricultural GDP recorded a nominal value of N103.9 trillion in 2025, Regius Capital emphasised that headline figures are heavily distorted by foreign exchange movements, general inflation, and commodity price spikes rather than tangible volume gains.

The analysis also highlighted a structural mismatch in capital allocation. Institutional capital remains overwhelmingly concentrated in downstream agribusinesses possessing large-scale, audited financials, collateralised assets, and established off-take contracts, leaving primary production and upstream farming underfunded. 

Regius Capital advocated for innovative financing mechanisms, including consortium-led Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), blended capital, milestone-based disbursements, longer-tenor project debt, and commercial papers designed to aggregate fragmented smallholder operators into bankable ventures.

Source: Business Day
Image Credit: Regius Capital Limited