NAN-AE-9
Partnership
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, April 19, 2017 (NAN) The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), says it is partnering with the management of the 12 river basin development authorities to boost agriculture value chain in the country.
NIRSAL’s Managing Director, Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said the partnership was toward the target of increasing food production with a view to feeding no fewer than 200 million persons daily.
According to him, starting commercially organised agriculture that makes sense to the small holder farmers as well as the national food security target, lies on using the capacity and assets of the river basin authorities.
Abdulhameed noted that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had been very supportive in supporting small holder farmers in its anchor- borrower programme.
He said the small holder farmers were tools to support the present administration’s target on food security and youth empowerment.
“NIRSAL is a key part of the government’s multi-pronged strategy to move agriculture beyond potential to significant progress, with the river basin potential; we can meet this target.’’
He stated that NIRSAL’s role was to help solve the longstanding inadequate financing of the agricultural sector by leveraging its $500 million fund to encourage lending to the sector.
The managing director further said that NIRSAL was solving the problem by ‘de-risking’ the agricultural financing value chain, building long-term capabilities and institutionalising agricultural lending.
The managing director also said that NIRSAL was achieving the task through risk sharing with banks, technical capacity building as well as the provision of incentives to encourage bank lending.
The managing director commended the Federal Government for making agriculture one of its six priority sectors of focus in the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP).
Abdulhameed noted that agriculture had unrivalled capacity in job creation, poverty reduction and inclusive economic growth.
He further disclosed that NIRSAL had commenced activities toward organising farmers on inputs, finance and equipment to engender enough food production in the country
NAN reports that CBN in August 2010 engaged the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to develop the NIRSAL.
NIRSAL is an approach that tackles both the agricultural value chains and the agricultural financing value chain to enhance the nation’s agricultural production.
The 12 river basin development authorities are: Sokoto-Rima, Hadejia- Jamaare, Upper Benue, Lower Benue, Benin – Owena and Cross River.
Others are Niger Delta, Ogun – Osun, Anambra – Imo, Lake Chad, Upper Niger and Lower Niger. (NAN)
TAK/MOL/DUA
Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Dada Ahmed