Lagos, Nigeria – As the world commemorates World Environment Day, Executive Director of Business Banking at Union Bank, Dr. Mannir U. Ringim, has called for greater investment in agriculture, arguing that financing farmers is one of the most effective climate actions Nigeria and West Africa can undertake.
In an article marking this year’s celebration, Ringim said climate change is increasingly disrupting traditional farming patterns across the region, making it more difficult for farmers to rely on long-established environmental signals for planting and harvesting.
According to him, delayed rainfall, prolonged droughts, recurrent flooding, desertification and coastal erosion have become clear indicators of a changing climate, with smallholder farmers bearing the brunt of the impact.
“Nature is still sending its signals, but they have become harder and crueller to read,” he noted, emphasizing that climate change often manifests first as an agricultural challenge before becoming an economic and social crisis.
Ringim argued that agricultural finance should be viewed as climate finance, stressing that directing capital toward farmers would simultaneously strengthen food security, improve rural livelihoods and enhance climate resilience.
He highlighted the paradox that, despite agriculture employing millions of Nigerians and contributing significantly to economic output, the sector continues to receive only a small share of total bank lending due to perceived risks associated with farming.
The banking executive maintained that many of these risks can be mitigated through innovative financial solutions, including crop-cycle lending, warehouse receipt systems, value-chain financing, irrigation funding, weather-index insurance, mechanisation support and digital farm data systems.
He said such interventions not only improve access to credit but also help farmers adapt to climate-related challenges through investments in drought-resistant seeds, irrigation infrastructure, improved storage facilities and sustainable land management practices.
Ringim further stressed that addressing climate vulnerability requires collaboration among governments, commercial banks, development finance institutions, insurers and agribusiness stakeholders.
He cited initiatives such as the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme and the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme as examples of public-private partnerships that have demonstrated both the opportunities and challenges associated with agricultural financing.
The Union Bank executive noted that regions often viewed through the lens of environmental and economic hardship, particularly Northern Nigeria and the Sahel, possess enormous agricultural potential that can be unlocked through targeted investment and access to finance.
He described agricultural financing as both national and climate infrastructure, arguing that supporting farmers is essential to building long-term economic resilience.
“As Nigeria and the wider West African region confront the realities of climate change, the most meaningful climate commitment the financial sector can make is to finance the land that feeds us—intelligently and at scale,” Ringim stated.
He concluded that decisions on how financial institutions price risk, allocate capital and support farmers will ultimately determine the region’s ability to address food insecurity, environmental degradation and economic vulnerability in the years ahead.
World Environment Day, observed annually on June 5, serves as the United Nations’ flagship platform for encouraging environmental awareness and action globally. This year’s theme is “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future.”
