What FIRA does

FIRA (Fideicomisos Instituidos en Relación con la Agricultura) is a Mexican government trust entity established in 1954 and headquartered in Morelia, Mexico, operating as a second-tier (wholesale) agricultural development bank under the Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural (SADER). It channels credit, guarantees, and direct support programs to Mexico's agri-food sector through a registered network of financial intermediaries — banks, rural credit unions, and specialized lenders — rather than lending directly to end borrowers. Its core products include Crédito FIRA (credit financing), Garantía FIRA (credit risk guarantees), the Programa de Apoyos para el Fomento (direct support), and specialized programs such as Sustenta+ (sustainability), Comercializa+ (commercialization), and rural tourism financing.

Underpinning these offerings is a technology stack comprising the institutional FIRA Portal, the Agrocostos/Agrocostos Interactivo agricultural cost information system, the Cotizador de Coberturas quotation tool, and the FIRA en Cifras reporting dashboard. Five Technological Development Centers (CDTs — Tezoyuca, Tantakin, Salvador Lira López, Villadiego, and La Noria) provide hands-on technical training and technology transfer. The underlying operating system is a multi-trust structure (FONDO, FEFA, FOPESCA) governed by Mexican law and aligned with the World Bank's Environmental and Social Framework.

FIRA does not operate on commercial pricing; interest rates are set under PRONAFIDE guidelines and rates are published via the annual FIRA interest rate reference. The entity issues debt securities (Certificados Bursátiles) under a dual program registered with Mexican securities authorities and operates under successive multi-year institutional programs — currently the Programa Institucional 2025-2030, succeeding the 2020-2024 program. With 1,001–5,000 employees and credit-placement targets in the hundreds of billions of pesos, FIRA functions as a policy-driven credit platform rather than a commercial enterprise.

Name

FIRA

Legal name

Fondo de Garantía y Fomento para la Agricultura, Ganadería y Avicultura (FONDO)

Website

https://fira.gob.mx

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FIRA is a Mexican government trust operating as a second-tier agricultural development bank since 1954, channeling credit, guarantees, and technical assistance to the agri-food sector via a network of financial intermediaries under SADER oversight.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Development Banking

NAICS

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting (11)

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

SBA/Government-Backed & Development Finance Loans (FSAKAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) & Trade Finance Institutions (BPADACAF), Trade, Industry & Economic Development Administration (BPAIAAAL)

Keywords

• Agricultural development finance
• Credit guarantee services
• Rural financial intermediation
• Agribusiness technical assistance
• Second-tier development bank

Headquarters

HQ city

Morelia

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

FIRA (Fideicomisos Instituidos en Relación con la Agricultura) is a Mexican government trust that operates as a second-tier development bank. It channels credit, guarantees, training, technical assistance, and technology-transfer support to the agricultural, livestock, forestry, and fisheries sectors primarily through a network of regulated financial intermediaries (banks, SOFOMES, credit unions, and other lenders).

Product overview

FIRA (Fideicomisos Instituidos en Relación con la Agricultura) is a Mexican public trust institution that operates as a platform offering credit, guarantees, and direct support programs for the agri-food sector and rural areas. The core offerings consist of Crédito FIRA (credit financing through financial intermediaries), Garantía FIRA (credit risk guarantees), and the Programa de Apoyos para el Fomento (direct support programs). The platform also includes specialized service centers called Centros de Desarrollo Tecnológico (CDTs) that provide technical training and technology transfer. Additional modules include Agrocostos (agricultural cost information), insurance services (Micrositio de Seguros Agropecuarios), sustainability programs (Sustenta+), commercialization support (Comercializa+), rural tourism financing, and analytical tools such as the Cotizador de Coberturas and FIRA en Cifras dashboard.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Program Institutional 2020-2024 set a goal of $305,102 million pesos in direct and induced credit to the agricultural sector for 2023

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAO has conducted evaluations of FIRA's programs including the 2010-2012 evaluation cycles, providing international best practices assessment for agricultural financing programs.
• Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo LeónminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducts annual evaluation studies of FIRA's institutional performance as mandated by Article 55 Bis 2 of the Law of Credit Institutions.
• GEA Grupo de Economistas y Asociados, S.C.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEconomic research consultancy contracted for multiple program evaluations (2006-2008) examining FIRA's subsidy channeling programs.
• SPECTRON Desarrollo, S.C.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsulting firm that conducted impact evaluation of FIRA's funding services and support programs for fiscal years 2013-2014.
• AGEVALÚA Evaluación de Política Pública SASminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic policy evaluation firm contracted for specific process evaluation of FIRA's budgetary program F017.
• Althria Consulting Group, SA de CVminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsulting firm engaged for analysis of FIRA's financial inclusion strategy gaps in 2022.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Financiera Nacional de Desarrollo Agropecuario, Rural, Forestal y Pesquero (FND): Mexico's other public-sector agricultural development bank, providing direct credit, guarantees, and technical assistance to rural producers. FND operates a parallel mandate under the Mexican government, making it the most directly comparable peer to FIRA, with overlapping customer segments (agricultural producers) and product categories (credit, guarantees).
• Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES): Brazil's primary federal development bank providing long-term financing across sectors including agriculture. BNDES is the closest international analog to FIRA in scale and mandate, operating as a wholesale financier of national economic development priorities with capital markets funding programs.

Broad incumbents

• Nacional Financiera (NAFIN): Mexican second-tier development bank operating under SHCP that channels credit and guarantees to MSMEs and strategic sectors. While NAFIN focuses on broader industrial/SME segments rather than agriculture specifically, its second-tier wholesale banking model and government trust structure make it a closely comparable institutional peer to FIRA.
• Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos (Banobras): Mexican development bank focused on infrastructure and public services financing. While Banobras targets infrastructure rather than agriculture, it shares FIRA's public trust structure, second-tier distribution model, and Certificados Bursátiles capital markets access, making it a relevant institutional comparator.
• KfW: German state-owned development bank providing promotional loans, guarantees, and technical assistance across sectors including agribusiness. KfW's second-tier distribution model and federal mandate mirror FIRA's structure, although at much larger scale and broader sector coverage.
• Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): Multilateral development finance institution supporting Latin American economic development, including agricultural and rural lending lines. IDB works alongside FIRA-style national development banks and provides co-financing structures similar to FIRA's relationship with the World Bank.
• USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA): U.S. federal agency administering farm loan programs, commodity programs, and disaster assistance. FSA provides direct and guaranteed farm loans to producers, mirroring FIRA's combined credit-plus-guarantee mandate under a national agricultural policy framework.
• Rabobank: Global cooperative bank with deep specialization in food and agribusiness lending, operating a wholesale and direct lending model across agricultural value chains. While private-sector rather than government-owned, Rabobank's ag-centric mandate and food-chain financing make it the leading private-sector comparator for FIRA.

Regional players

• Farm Credit Administration / Farm Credit System: U.S. federally chartered system of borrower-owned lending institutions providing credit to agriculture and rural America. Operates as a network of banks and associations channeling credit to producers, making it functionally analogous to FIRA's intermediary-based distribution model, though U.S.-focused.

Others

• Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ): Canadian institutional investor with significant agri-food and rural infrastructure investment mandates. CDPQ is not a direct competitor but represents the institutional capital pool that increasingly co-invests in Latin American agricultural development alongside entities like FIRA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fira_mexico
• Facebookfacebook.com/firamexico
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fira

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FIRA