The African Development Bank, AfDB, African Fertilizer and Agribusiness
Partnership (AFAP) have signed two grant agreements to implement trade credit
guarantees worth $5.4 million to support fertilizer value chains in Nigeria and
Tanzania, potentially benefitting hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers.
A statement from Apo Group, made available to OpenLife states that the
organizations held a signing ceremony at the African Green Revolution Forum in
Accra, Ghana on 5 September 2019.
Dr. Jennifer Blanke, African Development Bank Vice President for Agriculture,
Human and Social Development said the agreements would provide the inputs
needed for Africa to have “the productivity that we hope for.”
“We are just thrilled to be getting together with our partners in order to
expand the efforts to make sure that we are financing the development of
manufacturing and blending of fertilizer,” Blanke said. “This is an African
effort, led by Africans, for Africa,” she added.
The grants are designed by the Bank’s Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism
(AFFM) to provide sustainable financing solutions to boost the fertilizer value
chain in Africa.
African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership CEO Jason Scarpone signed the
agreements on behalf of the continental body, emphasizing the importance of
value chain financing – bringing fertilizer financing from manufacturer, to
distributor, to retailer to farmer. “Few succeed in doing it. This project will
be successful,” Scarpone told reporters.
The two deals are the first agreements signed by AFFM, which is hosted by the
African Development Bank, since it was became fully functional last year;they
pave the way for the first implementation of trade credit guarantee projects
for fertilizer financing led by AFFM in Nigeria and Tanzania.
The African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership will be the implementing
partner operating in the two countries on behalf of the Africa Fertilizer
Financing Mechanism. The Partnership has substantial experience in supporting
the agricultural value chain across the continent.
Scheduled for implementation over a two-year period, the projects will lead to
the enhancement of fertilizer value chains in the two countries and will target
10 importers, 5 blenders/manufacturers, and 37 hub agro-dealers as direct
beneficiaries, 520 retail agro-dealers as indirect beneficiaries and 700,000
smallholder farmers as final beneficiaries.
By supporting the fertilizer value chain in the two countries, the projects
will go a long way to making fertilizer available to more farmers, a key
objective of the Bank’s Feed Africa Strategy.
“We have expected results that are realistic. We are here to make sure this
happens,” AFFM Coordinator Marie Claire Kalihangabo said at the signing
ceremony.
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