THE Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, NIRSAL, along with its technical partner on agricultural mechanisation, Machines and Equipment Corporation Africa, MECA, have signed an agreement with the World Bank’s FADAMA III-AF programme for the management of its agricultural infrastructure.

Part of the deal is to repair 55,000 grounded tractors nationwide, an initiative that is expected to save the federal government a whopping N630 billion.

The deal commenced on Monday, May 20 in Abuja with the refurbishment of an initial 10,000 unserviceable tractors littered across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, at the cost of N30 billion, after which the 45,000 others will be fixed.

Speaking at the signing of the partnership agreement on Monday, Abdulhameed Aliyu, the managing director of NIRSAL, said NIRSAL would facilitate sustainability of the programme beyond the project by consolidating the existing farmer structure and cooperative system into our innovative Agricultural Geo-Coop collaboration arrangement, facilitating their access to financial services through various funding options available such as the NIRSAL Mfb, CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme and the MSMEDF as well as loans from Deposit Money Banks.

Abdulhameed appreciated FADAMA’s recognition of NIRSAL as a trustworthy and capable partner that would continue with the developmental activities FADAMA has embarked on in Nigeria.

“As FADAMA has done, so too will NIRSAL continue to support the growth and expansion of the Agricultural Value Chain as its mandate requires. At NIRSAL, we recognize that when it comes to Agriculture, there is an opportunity to positively impact millions of livelihoods.

“What you have witnessed here today is another example of how we are utilising these opportunities to better the lives of smallholder farmers across the nation.

“Consistent with NIRSAL’s mandate of fixing the agricultural value chain to drive agribusiness competitiveness and attract sustainable financing, NIRSAL has developed the NIRSAL Comprehensive Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, N-CAMP,” he said.

According to him, the N-CAMP seeks to revolutionise agricultural mechanisation in Nigeria through increased access to agricultural land development and infrastructural equipment and tractors through a unique spread-out (yet affordable) payment system enabled by NIRSAL’s Credit Risk Guarantees.

“The N-CAMP has six modules: the Recovery, Repairs, Maintenance of Heavy-duty Agricultural Land and Infrastructure Development Equipment, RE-MAIN: This is geared towards heavy-duty equipment, which will be refurbished (existing or broken-down) and operated on a “Rehabilitate/maintain, Operate and Transfer”, ROT, model,” he added.

Maimuna Habib, the representative of the minister of Agriculture, said the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration under Green Revolution Programme established 19 Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise centre, AEHEs, in 14 states equipped with 56 tractors and implements to complement the federal government’s effort of reducing manual labour and drudgery associated rural agriculture through mechanisation. – Leadership

May 21, 2019 @ 12:50 pm