Farmers Review Africa March/April 2020 Farmers Review Africa March - April 2020 digital ( | Page 4

NEWS
Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism
launches $2.2 million project in Nigeria to
boost fertilizer supply to 200,000 farmers
T
he Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism
(AFFM) has kick-started a $2.2 million
project to provide fertilizer suppliers in
Nigeria with financial support to improve supply
for 200,000 smallholder farmers. “We will leverage on existing networks and look
for creative solutions to increase the availability
of fertilizer in the country,” said Nana-Aisha
Mohammed, AFAP’s representative at the
ceremony.
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. The project will also
train farmers in proper fertilizer use and other
agricultural best practices. 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.
A project launch held on 3 March in the capital
Abuja, was attended by senior director of African
Development Bank’s (www.AfDB.org) Nigeria
Regional Office, Ebrima Faal and government
and industry partners. Participants discussed the
project and its implementation with AFFM’s local
partner, the Africa Fertilizer and Agribusiness
Partnership, or AFAP.
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access to quality and affordable fertilizer by
smallholder farmers and hence contribute to
the transformation of the agriculture sector in
Nigeria,” said Marie Claire Kalihangabo, AFFM
Coordinator.
Kalihangabo expressed her gratitude to the
Government of Nigeria for their financial support
to the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism.
The Bank’s Nigeria Regional Office Faal said
the National Fertilizer Quality Control Act 2019
further serves to reinforce the government’s
“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. commitment to the sector.
“We are confident that the project will increase production of fertilizer,” he said.
“This program is timely because the government
has placed measures to encourage local