Economy
Isidore Brightens Spirits of Smallholder Farmers Affected by Floods
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Last year, Nigeria witnessed one of its worst floods after a similar occurrence a decade earlier. The flooding wreaked havoc on farmlands and destroyed the livelihoods of many smallholder farmers.
Just when victims are feeling like all hope to restart their lives is lost, a Nigerian agritech startup, Isidore, is brightening their spirits.
According to the founder of Isidore, Ms Karen Adie, smallholder farmers are very critical to Nigeria and its food security, and they must not be left alone because it would affect the nation.
Isidore, a member of the Founders Factory Africa startup portfolio, provides access to capital, market linkages, and value-add tools to smallholder farmers. This is so that smallholder farmers can maximise income from their labour. Many of their customers are in the states worst affected by this year’s flooding.
With smallholder farmers making up 85 per cent of Nigeria’s farming community, floods like the ones experienced in Northern Nigeria in 2022 highlight the delicate balance these farmers maintain in providing for their families and themselves while feeding their surrounding communities.
“For farmers in low-lying areas like Argungu in Kebbi state, the floods were a terrible jeopardy. Many have lost their livelihood and their homes. Suddenly, we were faced with a COVID-level humanitarian crisis,” Ms Adie stated.
“The daily realities of these communities, which are usually impoverished, are real. Yet, they are facing the brunt of climate change, which has created an uncertainty they live with daily.
“Without smallholder farmers, hunger would skyrocket in northern Nigeria. These farmers are our partners. As Isidore, we had to do something,” she added.
She stated that her firm has come up with an initiative, Habitats for Hope Program, to bring succour to smallholder farmers in the country.
Run out of Isidore’s Lagos head office, the Habitats for Hope Program was founded to provide welfare support to grain farmers in rural agrarian communities, with farmers able to join the program by registering on Isidore’s Jinja platform.
“To join the program, you need to be a grain farmer, a member of a farming community or association, and be willing to use the Jinja platform. The platform allows us to directly interact with program beneficiaries quickly, with its existing infrastructure allowing us to scale the program at speed,” Adie explains.
“In terms of what we’ve achieved so far, we identified a total of 44 homes that need to be rebuilt – we split this into 3 phases; we’re currently in phase 1, working on the homes of 6 farmers.
“So far, since the program’s inception in October 2022, we’ve identified 44 homes that need to be rebuilt. The building program has been split into three phases. We are currently in phase 1, working on six homes destroyed by the flooding in Kebbi state. We have 40 local volunteers helping us and our beneficiaries rebuild their homes, and by extension, their communities, as quickly as possible,” she disclosed.
Ms Adie hopes that from these seeds, the program can work with over 200 farming communities in Nigeria by December 2024. Beyond flood assistance, the Habitats For Hope Program focuses more broadly on housing and living conditions, education and skills development, and healthcare and disease prevention.
“We could not just limit the program to housing and living conditions. If a farmer gets sick and cannot tend to their land, it directly impacts that farmer’s ability to feed themselves, their family, and the surrounding community that relies on them. Worse, it directly impacts that farmer’s livelihood, with the sale of excess crops being their primary source of income.
“Coupled with this, education can play a vital role in allowing farmers to increase crop yield and use new ways to farm their lands. A larger yield means greater food security and can make a tangible difference in farmers’ lives through the money they make selling their produce,” she stated.
With the program in its infancy, Ms Adie and the Isidore team are searching for partners to enlarge the program’s impact. Partners could contribute financially to procure materials and extend the program’s ability to develop affected communities.
The provision of volunteers, building materials, equipment, farming inputs, and healthcare is just as critical. Furthermore, access to training, skills development and other service contributions are being sought.
Business Post recalled that between August and October 2022, floods ravaged thousands of homes across northern Nigeria, with the states of Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano and Sokoto significantly affected.
It is believed that at least 30 people died due to the flooding, with survivors now having to pick up the pieces.
Beyond the destruction of homes and loss of life, the flooding represents a mortal threat to the livelihoods and food security of farmers and people living in flooded areas, with vital farmlands ruined and critical roads and bridges washed away.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Okitipupa Plc was the sole price gainer at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, August 7, lifting the trading platform by 0.44 per cent at the close of transactions.
The share price of the palm oil producer appreciated during the trading session by N25.00 or 9.0 per cent to N277.00 per unit compared with the previous day’s N252.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation gained N12.29 billion to close at N2,807 trillion, in contrast to the previous session’s N2.795 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 93.63 points to finish at 4,678.08 points compared with Thursday’s 4,657.59 points.
The bourse recorded a price loser yesterday, and this was Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc, which crashed by 3 Kobo or 9.4 per cent to settle at 32 Kobo per share versus the previous day’s 35 Kobo per share.
The volume of securities traded by investors plunged by 81.5 per cent to 535,7560 units from 2.9 million units, the value of securities slumped by 93.9 per cent to N6.0 million from N99.2 million, and the number of deals decreased by 41.9 per cent to 36 deals from 62 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.15 per cent growth was achieved by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, driven by continued buying interest in banking stocks such as First Holdco and others.
The banking index was up by 1.53 per cent during the session, offsetting the losses recorded by the others. The industrial goods segment fell by 0.37 per cent, the insurance counter shrank by 0.21 per cent, and the energy sector contracted by 0.04 per cent, while the consumer goods space closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 364.26 points to 245,573.60 points from 245,209.34 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N235 billion to N158.513 trillion from N158.278 trillion.
Despite the gains printed by Customs Street during the trading day, investor sentiment was weak, as there were 22 price gainers and 24 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UPDC surged by 9.23 per cent to N3.55, CWG soared by 6.56 per cent to N19.50, AXA Mansard appreciated by 4.80 per cent to N13.10, Neimeth advanced by 4.24 per cent to N8.60, and Cutix improved by 4.00 per cent to N2.60.
Conversely, Red Star Express lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N18.00, CAP declined by 9.98 per cent to N115.45, John Holt shrank by 9.82 per cent to N10.10, ABC Transport depreciated by 9.57 per cent to N5.20, and Legend Internet crashed by 8.70 per cent to N4.20.
A total of 1.5 billion equities worth N26.7 billion exchanged hands in 42,580 deals on Friday versus the 531.8 million equities valued at N20.5 billion traded in 44,826 deals on Thursday, representing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 182.06 per cent, 30.24 per cent, and 5.01 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock during the session was Fortis Global Insurance, with a turnover of 824.5 million units valued at N2.1 billion, FCMB traded 217.9 million units worth N2.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 176.2 million units for N4.7 billion, Chams sold 32.5 million units worth N132.1 million, and First Holdco transacted 25.0 million units valued at N3.7 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further closed south against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, August 7, by 81 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to N1,365.69/$1 from N1,364.88/$1.
It was a similar situation for the Nigerian Naira in the official market during the session as against the Pound Sterling; it lost N1.08 to quote at N1,839.17 versus the previous day’s N1,838.09/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N1.23 to close at N1,575.73/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,574.80/€1.
Further, at the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N2 to settle at N1,371/$1 compared with Thursday’s N1,369/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,400/$1.
The country’s legal tender came under FX demand pressure on Friday, with turnover rising by 304.3 per cent to $399.5 million from $98.8 million the previous day, with the number of deals slightly up to 107 from 106.
Next week, traders expect the Naira to hold steady, buoyed by dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), whose presence in the market could help ease demand pressure.
As for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) neared the $65,000-mark after it gained 0.8 per cent to trade at $64,968.05, as investors took advantage of recent drops to shore up their holdings.
Previously, the decision by the US Senate to delay a vote on the Crypto Clarity Act until at least September weakened the outlook. The bill, which would set out which US regulator oversees which digital assets, needs 60 votes to pass and it is unclear whether it currently has 50.
Solana (SOL) grew by 2.5 per cent to $74.81, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.3 per cent to $0.0702, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 1.1 per cent to $593.80, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 0.5 per cent to $1,916.08, Ripple (XRP) also soared by 0.5 per cent to $1.03, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3275.
However, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.1997, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
