Smallholder farmers are being assisted in their efforts to improve productivity through a US$1 million grant that aims to make fertilisers more affordable and accessible.

The grant agreement was signed by the Fund of African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA) donors and the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) on the sidelines of the African Development Bank (AfDB) annual meetings in Busan, Korea, recently, according to a report in Africa Business Communities.

AFAP has agreed to match FAPA’s grant, which is also expected to help create jobs for more than 1 000 women and youth in the target countries of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique and Tanzania.

‘This project is very much in line with the Feed Africa strategy of the AfDB.  It will promote greater local supply of fertiliser to farmers thereby increasing productivity, which is central to the transformation of value chains,” said Jennifer Blanke, AfDB vice-president of agriculture, human and social development.

The fund will improve access to finance for blending companies and joint ventures in the agriculture sector. It will also enhance fertliser distribution through agro-dealer networks.

29 May 2018
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