German agency to launch $4.1 million agricultural finance scheme in Nigeria
Summary
The goal of the scheme is to improve the income and productivity of 200,000 smallholder farmers.
The Green Innovation Centre for Agriculture and Food Sector (GIC) has announced that it will launch a $4.1 million agricultural finance scheme in Nigeria in November. The GIC Programme Coordinator for Nigeria, Caroline Trimborn, said the programme will run for four years and the fund will be disbursed to small-scale farmers through commercial banks.
The programme coordinator made the announcement in Abuja during a training organised by the GIC for journalists.
“We are working with banks to come out with good criteria that farmers could meet,” said Triborn. Adding that the funds will require collateral but it will be specific to each bank and its criteria.
The goal of the scheme, according to Triborn, is to improve the income and productivity of 200,000 smallholder farmers cultivating rice, maize, Irish potato and cassava in the country. Triborn said the agency has different intervention plans along various value chains.
The agency is working on projects in Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Cross River, Oyo, and Ogun State to train up to 150,000 smallholder farmers. GIC is working with the federal and state governments and with a lot of private organisations to boost agricultural production and the livelihood of farmers in Nigeria.
The GIC is a division of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). The GIZ, under the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), works with businesses, civil society actors and research institutions to foster successful interactions for development.
Related
-
Unleashing the potential of Africa’s cotton industry
Binding arrangements with the private sector present a number of benefits for cotton producers.
-
ThriveAgric showcases social, food security impacts in new report
The company aims to provide $500 million in credit to 10 million smallholder farmers across Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya by ...
-
Current locust outbreak underscores need for pest control preparedness in Africa
Based on my experience developing a plant-based biopesticide for the control of weevils that attack cowpea, maize and rice ...
Sustainable Development Section Sponsor
-
Access Bank Plc ...Financing the future
Most Popular
