By Adedapo Adesanya
The Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM) has started a $2.2 million project to provide fertiliser suppliers in Nigeria with financial support to improve supply for 200,000 smallholder farmers.
The trade credit guarantee project is AFFM’s first in the West African nation and will involve 10 fertilizer suppliers, 12 hub agro-dealers and 120 retail agro-dealers.
In a press release issued by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on Monday, it was disclosed that the project will also train farmers in proper fertilizer use and other agricultural best practices.
It was stated that that project launch held on March 3 in Abuja, was attended by the Senior Director of African Development Bank’s Nigeria Regional Office, Mr Ebrima Faal alongside representatives from the Nigerian government and industry partners.
According to Mr Umar Musa, Assistant Director of FMARD’s Farm Inputs Support Services Department who represented the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), said AFAP should work with the Nigerian government and other actors in the fertilizer value chain to ensure that the project complies with Nigeria’s policies and sector strategies.
“We expect this project to support smallholder farmers and improve their productivity in order to help the country increase its local production and consumption of fertilizer,” he said.
On the part of AFFM, the Coordinator, Mrs Marie Claire Kalihangabo noted that the project was going to help small scale farmers add to the output and help the agriculture sector in the country
“We are confident that the project will increase access to quality and affordable fertilizer by smallholder farmers and hence contribute to the transformation of the agriculture sector in Nigeria,”
Mrs Kalihangabo then expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for its financial support to the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism.
On the part of the AfDB, its Nigerian Regional Office senior director, Mr Faal said the National Fertilizer Quality Control Act 2019 further serves to reinforce the government’s commitment to the sector.
“This program is timely because the government has placed measures to encourage local production of fertilizer,” he said.
The participants at the launch discussed the project and its implementation with AFFM’s local partner, the Africa Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership, (AFAP).
According to Mrs Nana-Aisha Mohammed, who represented AFAP in official capacity, the initiative was on board and would bank of existing methods to increase fertilizer availability.
“We will leverage on existing networks and look for creative solutions to increase the availability of fertilizer in the country,” she said.
