By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – IN a quest to galvanize smallholder farmers’ resilience and boost investors’ confidence in agribusiness, the National Agricultural Development Fund, NADF, Leadway Assurance Company Limited and Verdure Climate, have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to upscale climate-resilient finance for smallholder farmers.

The signing of the MoU was done at the National Dialogue on Innovative Agric Insurance and Climate Finance in Abuja, which basically is targeted at backing the implementation of the AGRA project christened ‘Building Farmers’ Resilience through Innovative Insurance Models and Financial Instruments’.

The dialogue had in attendance financial institutions, government agencies, insurers, anchor companies, and farmer groups to critically assess strategies for integrating index insurance into agricultural lending and unlocking more private-sector capital for rural producers.

The project is part of AGRA 3.0, which targets increased access to finance, stronger market linkages, innovative insurance products, and improved resilience for thousands of farmers between 2025 and 2027.

The Executive Secretary, NADF, Mohammed Ibrahim represented by the General Manager, Partnerships and Investor Relations, NADF, Nasir Ingawa, explained that the Fund’s collaboration with Leadway Assurance Company Limited and Verdure Climate is in order with the its mandate to upscale agricultural lending. 

He said: “As we face increasing challenges due to climate change, unpredictable weather patterns, and limited access to finance, the role of innovative financial solutions such as index-based agricultural insurance and blended finance has never been more critical.”

Meanwhile, the NADF boss expressed optimism based on the introduction of Index-based and Pay-at-Harvest insurance products, which he said would “go a long way in enhancing investor confidence.”

The MoU basically concentrates on bundling insurance with agricultural loans, scaling credit-linked insurance for rice, soyvbeans and maize value chains in priority states, and embedding climate-smart agriculture practices into NADF loan products, which aims to introduce digital climate advisory services and strengthen the capacity of business development service providers.

On the part of Leadway Assurance, the Head, Agriculture Risk Solutions, Fatona Paul, while commending the Ibrahim-led NADF described the partnership as a strategic step towards improving climate preparedness in agriculture – “the policy anchor that initiatives like ours can build upon.”