The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) granted a US$44.88mn financing to Senegal National Groundnut Company (SONACOS) to help the Senegalese agriculture sector in post-Covid recovery
The facility is purposed at financing part of the 2021-2022 groundnut campaign. It will cover about 45% of the financing needs of SONACOS to secure the procurement of 150,000 tonnes of groundnuts arising form the current harvest from farmers and to be processed into groundnut oil, animal feed, and edible groundnuts. This is to support the full recovery of the Senegalese economy as agriculture is a vital sector that contributes about 16% to the country’s GDP.
The operation is particularly crucial as its impact will directly contribute to the SDG 1 ‘No Poverty’ and SDG 2 ‘Zero Hunger’. This brings the total financing approved by ITFC in favor of Senegal to over US$1.1bn under 19 operations since the inception of ITFC in 2008.
Chief operating officer of ITFC Nazeem Noordali said, “ITFC’s commitment to supporting the agriculture sector, especially the groundnut sector in Senegal, is for the long term and is of great interest to us. We believe in the growth of the agriculture sector in Sub-Saharan Africa and we stand ready to support key actors such as SONACOS on projects that not only bring in financial value but directly impact farming and rural communities. That way, we are not only supporting the recovery of the national and regional economy, but also contributing to creating and sustaining jobs and empowering farmers.”
CEO of SONACOS Modou Diagne Fada added, “SONACOS’ partnership with ITFC is crucial for us. ITFC’s funding of US$44.88mn provides a much-needed resource for our farmers and it’s a fundamental step to ensure a successful 2021/2022 groundnut trading campaign in Senegal. In addition, ITFC has a great understanding of the agricultural and African realities which is crucial for developing this sector. We want to thank ITFC for the unabated support over several seasons to this strategic sector for the country.”
