ABOUT 350,000 smallholder farms are expected to benefit from the $6m agricultural grant for the improvement of agricultural food supply in the North East.
In its bid to address decades of low farm output caused by insurgency, Feed-the-Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity, under its Enterprise Investment Fund, has flagged off its second round of $6m grant partnerships with private sector companies, social enterprises and civil society organisations.
The grant will support 350,000 farmers through the production value chain by providing quality inputs, extension services, premium price buy-back and linkage of farmers to the right market.
The organisation, during its kick-off meeting held yesterday, sensitised 10 private sector companies on intervention areas and expectations from the partnerships.
The companies include Meadow Foods, CropIT, Jamil Al Hakim Foundation, Motherhen Development Foundation, E-Purse, Rural Farmers Hub, Centre for Microenterprise Development, Golden Agri Inputs Ltd, Deva Access and HelloTractor.
Some of the grant partnerships would focus on facilitating access to appropriate financial services and improving the productivity of 40,000 micro, small and medium enterprises engaged in the rice, maize, cowpea and groundnut value chains.
According to reports, the kick-off event is the first of a three-day EIF Deal Room and MSME Trade Exhibition workshop, holding in Yola, for targeted beneficiaries from Adamawa, Borno, Yobe and Gombe states.
The Rural Resilience Activity’s Enterprise Investment Fund is a $6m grant for MSMEs and large-scale enterprises operating within or directly benefitting from its targeted areas in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Gombe states.
Through the fund, the Rural Resilience Activity provides matching grants and technical assistance to sustainably improve the enterprises’ performance and strengthen the overall market system to improve productivity of smallholder farmers and microenterprises.
