Leveraging US Revitalised Credit Guarantee For Agriculture Trade With Nigeria

The United States has recently revitalised a key credit guarantee programme to boost agricultural trade with Nigeria following its expanded support for agricultural trade through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Export Credit Guarantee Programme, known as GSM-102.

The GSM-102 programme from all indications provides U.S. government-backed credit guarantees and serves as an important tool for Nigerian banks and importers to use when sourcing essential agricultural inputs from the United States.

This program supports U.S. efforts to strengthen U.S.-Nigeria agricultural trade, build more reliable food supply chains, and increase commercial opportunities for both countries.

With this initiative in place the United States and Nigeria will now continue to advance a strong and growing economic partnership, with two-way trade in goods and services reaching nearly $15 billion in 2025, up 14 percent from 2024.

Agricultural trade has been a major contributor to this expansion, increasing to $764 million—an 84 percent rise from $415 million in 2024, and underscoring Nigeria’s importance as a key partner, which underscores  the U.S. Mission’s  committed to expanding agricultural trade, strengthening commercial ties with Nigerian agribusinesses, supporting private sector growth, and deepening economic engagement.

To increase awareness and utilisation of the GSM-102 programme in Nigeria, the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Consulate General hosted a two-day event in Lagos bringing together officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, representatives of U.S. agricultural exporters, Nigerian banks, and agricultural importers.

Delivering remarks at the opening of the event on Tuesday, U.S. Consul General Rick Swart noted that Nigeria is one of the United States’ most important agricultural trade partners in Africa. “Under the Trump Administration, we are making a clear shift, from aid to trade,” Consul General Swart said. “We’re engaging Nigeria as an outstanding and unique commercial partner.

That means we are looking for real-world solutions that foster the kind of business environment that enables entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors to build the future of U.S.-Nigeria commerce.”

Throughout the two-day event, participants explored how GSM-102 can help Nigerian businesses access the U.S. market, improve food security, and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition, the Nigerian participants engaged their U.S. counterparts in business-to-business discussions aimed at turning market opportunities into concrete transactions.

Demeteris “Dee” Hale, Senior Analyst for the Africa, Middle East, Türkiye, Caucasus, and Central Asia Region at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, noted that “at its core, GSM-102 strengthens market confidence by reducing risk, enabling lenders and exporters to move forward with transactions and expand into new opportunities. We are here to work with financial institutions, importers, exporters, and other stakeholders across the industry to build stronger linkages and drive increased agricultural trade.”

In late 2025, Nigerian banks regained eligibility to participate in GSM-102. Since then, credit limits have already been extended to selected Nigerian banks, enabling renewed access to U.S.-backed trade financing and contributing to increased bilateral agricultural trade.

While this was a significant development, it is apt to interrogate the structure and system that will guarantee absolute success for this and how it will be determined. If this is to be successful, then e mechanism must be put in place to ensure that the programme gets to the grassroots farmers, who deserve it rather than the elite who sit in big offices in Abuja or Lagos.

While challenges are vast in this sector, there are opportunities for growth, which include increasing the use of technology, such as drones for farming and digital platforms for supply chains.  The US- Nigeria collaboration in this sector should push for increased investment in order to enhance agriculture and food security.