The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc.) has completed a mid-year training programme for lead farmers and extension agents in the aquaculture and cassava value chains in four states.
The head, corporate communications, Jude Nnadozie, confirmed this in a statement obtained by journalists on Wednesday in Lagos.
The training held across locations in Imo, Sokoto, Kwara, and Oyo states was aimed at boosting farmers’ capacities to access and repay commercial loans, and had more than 2,000 participants with state government representatives in attendance.
NIRSAL Plc is an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria established to de-risk agriculture and agribusiness financing in Nigeria, with a view to stimulating the flow of finance and investment into the agricultural value chain from multiple sources.
The statement said the training exercise was carried out under one of the five pillars of NIRSAL—technical assistance, under which value chain fixing initiatives were researched, developed, and promoted.
It added that NIRSAL would continue to promote the Agro Geo-Cooperative approach to primary production.
The statement said that NIRSAL primarily targets lead farmers with the experience and skill to share new knowledge with members of their various cooperatives for its training programmes.
It said that 500 participants assembled in two locations – one urban and one rural in Imo State for fish production.
“It was the same in Sokoto State, while the Oyo and Kwara states outings focused on cassava value-chain,” said the statement.
The statement quoted Uche Agabige, the Imo State House committee chairman on Agriculture, lauded NIRSAL for including the state in the capacity building programme, with the belief that it would complement local efforts aimed at boosting agricultural productivity in the state.
The statement quoted Ibrahim Suleiman, the head of value chain capacity development at NIRSAL Plc, as saying that the capacity development programme was part of the technical assistance offered by NIRSAL to agricultural value chain actors under its Technical Assistance pillar.
Mr Suleiman noted that lead farmers and extension agents in aquaculture and cassava were similarly gathered at two urban and rural locations in Sokoto, Oyo, and Kwara states.
He said the participants were expected to cascade the training to an estimated 6,000 farmers across the states.
The statement noted that the participants expressed their delight at the new insights they gained, pledging to share the same with members of their various cooperatives.