The African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA), in partnership with NIRSAL Plc and other stakeholders, has commenced a week-long masterclass in Lagos to equip financial-sector professionals with skills to finance climate-resilient agriculture and apply artificial intelligence to agricultural lending.
The programme, which began on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, attracted participants from Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and other African countries.
Representatives from four central banks are participating alongside professionals from commercial banks, insurance companies, development finance institutions and microfinance banks.
The masterclass focuses on inclusive finance for climate resilience and the application of artificial intelligence in financial services and agricultural finance.
Opening the programme, AFRACA Secretary-General, Ngo Bakang Anny Caroll, said the training was timely as climate change continues to disrupt agricultural production and put pressure on food systems across Africa.
She said financial institutions have an important role to play as providers and allocators of capital, adding that better financing would help Africa strengthen food production and improve its global competitiveness.
Representing NIRSAL, Executive Director, Operations, Ewaen Imohe, delivered a welcome address on behalf of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sa’ad Hamidu.
Hamidu identified poor understanding and management of agricultural risks as a major challenge limiting agricultural finance across Africa.
“At NIRSAL, we have always maintained that agriculture, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is not underfinanced because opportunities do not exist, but because the risks have not been sufficiently understood, measured, appropriately priced, and managed,” he said.
He said NIRSAL had developed financing systems and risk-sharing frameworks to make agricultural lending more attractive to financial institutions and encourage greater private-sector participation.
Hamidu disclosed that NIRSAL approved Credit Risk Guarantees for loans worth more than N100 billion in 2025 and had surpassed that figure in 2026.
The guaranteed loans are supporting farmers, processors, aggregators, exporters and other businesses across agricultural value chains.
He also said non-interest financial institutions accounted for more than 50 per cent of loans guaranteed by NIRSAL in the first half of 2026, describing the development as evidence that appropriate risk-sharing mechanisms can attract different sources of capital to agriculture.
The masterclass is exposing participants to tools for assessing climate risks, developing adaptation and mitigation projects, structuring green investments and accessing specialised climate-finance facilities.
Dr Chris Myungu of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT under CGIAR introduced participants to the Africa Adaptation Atlas and CGIAR climate-rationale outputs, which can help financial institutions use climate data when assessing agricultural investments.
The programme is also examining how artificial intelligence can improve risk assessment, transaction analysis and financial decision-making in agricultural lending.
Hamidu urged participants to focus on practical applications of AI that can help financial institutions better understand agricultural risks and make informed lending decisions.
He also highlighted the potential of combining AI with climate finance, blended finance, grants and other funding mechanisms to expand resources available to African agriculture.
He described the programme as part of the growing partnership between AFRACA and NIRSAL, combining AFRACA’s continental knowledge-sharing network with NIRSAL’s experience in agricultural risk-sharing and value-chain financing.
The organisers said the training is expected to help financial institutions improve agricultural risk management, expand access to finance and support more climate-resilient agribusinesses across Africa.