GEEP National Programme Manager Visits NIRSAL PLC, Seeks Collaboration on FarmerMoni Risk Management

By Iyojo Ameh

The National Programme Manager of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Ibrahim Hamza Baba, has paid a courtesy visit to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIRSAL PLC, Mr. Saad Hamidu, to explore areas of collaboration aimed at strengthening the FarmerMoni ecosystem and advancing the broader objectives of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).

The visit, which took place in Abuja, focused on enhancing sustainability and risk-management mechanisms for GEEP beneficiaries, while deepening inter-agency cooperation to support smallholder farmers and enterprise empowerment across Nigeria.

Disclosing this in Abuja, Attari M. Hope, Deputy Director and Head of Information and Public Relations at NSIPA, said the engagement underscored the Federal Government’s commitment to leveraging strategic partnerships to improve access to finance, reduce lending risks, and scale impact for beneficiaries of social investment programmes.

During the meeting, both parties agreed to explore collaboration in several priority areas, including credit risk guarantees and co-financing, by leveraging NIRSAL’s risk-sharing instruments to de-risk lending to FarmerMoni beneficiaries.

They also discussed data sharing and enumeration to align beneficiary records, improve registration processes, and strengthen digital data management.

Other areas identified include capacity building and technical assistance, through joint training programmes to improve productivity, financial literacy, and creditworthiness of beneficiaries and field agents; input supply and market access, by linking beneficiaries to input suppliers, off-takers, and aggregation and market channels; as well as monitoring, evaluation and digital platforms, to enhance programme oversight, transparency, and impact measurement.

The discussions further covered policy advocacy and regulatory alignment, with coordinated engagement of relevant stakeholders to ensure an enabling regulatory environment for programme interventions.

Speaking during the meeting, Mr. Hamidu reaffirmed NIRSAL’s readiness to partner with GEEP, saying the institution is committed to deploying its risk-sharing products, technical expertise, and market linkages to strengthen the FarmerMoni value chain and expand sustainable access to finance for smallholder farmers.

In his response, Mr. Baba welcomed the proposed partnership, noting that combining NIRSAL’s insurance and risk-management solutions with FarmerMoni’s grassroots distribution and beneficiary network would help deliver a comprehensive package of credit, inputs, training, and risk mitigation nationwide.

Both parties agreed that the next step would be the establishment of a joint technical working group to define pilot activities, set timelines, and develop an implementation plan, which would culminate in the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).