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Agricultural financing in the Sahel: lessons from the AGRI+ programme shared during a webinar

In many parts of the Sahel, accessing credit remains a real challenge for farmers. Yet this financing is essential for investing, increasing production, and securing family incomes.

For eight years, the AGRI+ programme, run by SOS Faim in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, has sought to address this reality. Its aim: to make agricultural finance more accessible, more reliable, and better suited to the needs of family farms.

On 6 November 2025, a webinar attended by over 200 participants provided an opportunity to share the key lessons from this experience.

Why is it so difficult to access agricultural credit?

For farmers, accessing a loan remains complicated. There are many reasons for this: insufficient collateral, a lack of understanding of the agricultural sector among financial institutions, or financial products that are ill-suited to the realities on the ground.

The result: farmers who struggle to invest in their businesses, despite very real needs.

Building connections to unlock funding

One of the key drivers of the AGRI+ programme has been to bring stakeholders together. Farmers’ organisations, microfinance institutions, banks, and public authorities have been brought together in regular forums for discussion.

These meetings have enabled each party to better understand the other’s constraints, clear up certain misunderstandings, and gradually build a relationship of trust.

In total, more than 200 local meetings and 25 regional and national meetings were organised.

Practical solutions to facilitate access to credit

AGRI+ has helped to establish financial tools to encourage institutions to lend more to the agricultural sector, notably a financing facility and a guarantee fund. These mechanisms have helped to secure loans and reduce risks for financial institutions.

The results are tangible:

16 partner financial institutions mobilised
4,225 loans granted
€6.13 million committed
44% of which was allocated to agricultural equipment

Behind these figures lie thousands of farmers who have been able to invest in their businesses, improve their production, and strengthen their livelihoods.

Building the capacity of farmers’ organisations

Beyond simply providing access to finance, AGRI+ has supported farmers’ organisations in becoming more self-reliant. Training programmes have helped them improve their management, better define their financial needs, and engage more effectively with financial institutions.

In total, 180 organisations received support. Nearly 80% of them were subsequently able to access credit.

A lasting change in practices

One of the programme’s key lessons is clear: facilitating access to agricultural credit does not rely solely on financial tools. It also requires dialogue, trust, and long-term support.

AGRI+ has thus helped to change practices, both among farmers’ organisations and financial institutions, to build a system of agricultural financing that is more inclusive and better suited to the realities on the ground.