The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) have signed two grant agreements to implement trade credit guarantees worth US$5.4mn to support fertiliser value chains in Nigeria and Tanzania, benefitting smallholder farmers
The organisations held a signing ceremony at the African Green Revolution Forum in Accra, Ghana on 5 September.
Dr Jennifer Blanke, vice-president for agriculture, human and social development at AfDB, said that the agreements would provide the inputs needed for Africa to have “the productivity that we hope for.”
The grants are designed by the AfDB’s Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM) to provide sustainable financing solutions to boost Africa’s fertiliser value chain.
AFAP CEO Jason Scarpone signed the agreements on behalf of the continental body, emphasising the importance of value chain financing - bringing fertiliser financing from manufacturer to distributor, to retailer to the farmer.
The AFAP will be the implementing partner operating in the two countries on behalf of the AFFM. The Partnership has substantial experience in supporting the agricultural value chain across the continent.
The two deals are the first agreements signed by AFFM, which is hosted by the AfDB since it became fully functional last year. They pave the way for the first implementation of trade credit guarantee projects for fertiliser financing led by AFFM in Nigeria and Tanzania.
Scheduled for implementation over a two-year period, the projects will lead to the enhancement of fertiliser value chains in the two countries and will target 10 importers, five 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.
