Covid-19 Agric Loan by AFDB Begins
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) on Friday approved a $134 million loan for the National Agriculture Growth Scheme – Agro Pocket program in Nigeria to scale up food production and boost livelihood resilience.
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The program will support fast-tracking of the implementation of key policy and institutional reforms and boost private sector participation in agriculture. This will help increase cereals and oil grains production by 7 million tonnes to 35 million tonnes. It will also increase average cereal yields from 1.42 tonnes to 2 tonnes per hectare during the September 2022-December 2023 implementation period.
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The program aligns with the Bank’s African Emergency Food Production Facility (https://bit.ly/3Pk0a2P) and will support Nigeria’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of the war in Ukraine. Food prices have been rising rapidly due to higher volatility caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, aggravated by the war.
The program also aligns with the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy as it promotes climate-resilient agriculture and targets the vulnerable population, including youth and women.