The Federal Government has increased the Credit Risk Guarantee (CRG) for tomato crate financing to 75 per cent under the Dutch-funded HortiNigeria Programme, in a move expected to unlock over ₦500 million in intervention funding for Nigeria’s horticulture sector.

The Country Representative of the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and Programme Director of HortiNigeria, Mohamed Selassie Idris, announced this at the 47th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Food Security (NCAFS) in Kaduna.

Idris explained that the guarantee, which was initially 30 per cent last year and later increased to 50 per cent, has now been scaled up to 75 per cent through collaboration with the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

“This measure will boost confidence among financial institutions, expand access to credit for agribusinesses, and significantly reduce post-harvest losses in the tomato value chain,” Idris said.

He noted that the use of plastic crates instead of traditional raffia baskets has helped reduce tomato spoilage during transportation from northern states such as Kaduna and Kano to southern markets.

According to him, the enhanced credit framework, supported by NIRSAL, will make available ₦500 million for crate manufacturing and distribution to farmers across major tomato-producing states.

“The initiative will strengthen the supply chain and enable more farmers and crate producers to access financing,” he added.

Idris said the initiative aligns with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security’s drive to modernise the horticulture sector through sustainable and technology-driven practices.

Funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands, HortiNigeria is implemented by a consortium led by the IFDC, in partnership with the East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT), KIT Institute, and Wageningen University & Research (WUR).