Business
NAIC, CBN To Boost Data On Farmers
The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) says it is discussing with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other stakeholders on the need to get perfect data for farmers across the country.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NAIC, Mrs Folashade Joseph, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, recently.
She said that for insurance business to be effective and sustainable, operators should have farmers’ robust data, which they should leverage to promote their operations.
She said this was crucial to monitoring farm processes, storage and the deployment of products that would be useful to the agric sector.
Joseph noted that index insurance could not operate effectively without accurate data.
“Data for farmers will help us know how many farmers we have in each state and what each person is into such as rice production, maize, cassava and even processing of the produce. This is very important so that we can effectively monitor and improve on our processes.
“The index insurance cannot operate effectively without accurate data. It is only when we have the correct data, which we will improve every year, that we can effectively achieve our objectives. That is key to us in NAIC, and we have spoken to our supervising ministry and other stakeholders like CBN on the need to get a perfect data”, she stated.
According to her, NAIC is at the verge of deploying drone to inspect and monitor farm lands against flood and insecurity.
She said the firm had incurred claims from flood and insecurity, adding that the company has sustained its awareness campaign with target at ensuring food security in the country.
Joseph implored those within the agric value chain to insure their businesses with her firm which, according to her, has presence across the nation.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.