By Samuel
The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Plc has said that investment in the agriculture sector remains unsafe without a fixed, de-risked and integrated agricultural value chain with efficient and controlled route-to-market for commodities.
Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of NIRSAL, Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed made this disclosure during a meeting between the agency and the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, at Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
According to Abdulhameed, the agriculture sector still requires massive financing, equipment, technology, and intellectual capital to enhance its growth following the food security objective of the nation.
This development, he added, would address the menace of about 50 percent post-harvest losses on some agricultural commodities leading to significant loss of economic value.
The NIRSAL Boss noted that though the country was blessed with abundant opportunities in land, labour, water and markets, then, it remains, “food insecure” with about N1.5 trillion average annual food import bill and 94.6 million poor and malnourished people.
He further pointed that agriculture currently accounts for 25 percent of the country’s GDP which was even as high as 42 percent before 2014.
“Inefficiencies inherent across agricultural commodity value chains make the sector highly unattractive for investment and the sector’s potentials highly under-maximised in Nigeria,” he said.
To tackle the inefficiencies in the sector, Abdulhameed said that the planned implementation of the Secured Agricultural Commodity Transport and Storage Corridor (SATS-C), an initiative of NIRSAL will help to effectively combat post-harvest losses, create jobs and boost the contribution of the agriculture sector to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
SATS-C is a new initiative of NIRSAL aimed to address the supply-side and trade-related constraints of agricultural commodities in Nigeria by facilitating the movement of goods safely from the primary source to the domestic consumer, Industries, and Export market.
NIRSAL Boss stated that when fully operational, the SATS-C policy could directly lead to a five percent increase in the agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP by halving annual post-harvest losses of $12 billion.
The initiative, he further explained will also complement and perfect one of NIRSAL’s business models/concepts known as PH-P3 (Primary Production & Harvest, Primary Processing, Primary Transportation and Primary Storage)
PH-P3 is a business concept that ensures efficient production in the farms and optimum capture of value at harvest by enabling prompt evacuation of produce from farm-gates, and the subsequent haulage of commodities across the country through designated corridors.
The scheme was first introduced in December 2018, the policy essentially aims to fix key constraints confronting the transportation of agricultural produce and products across the country, working with both private and public sector stakeholders.
Abdulhameed, therefore, called on all enabler institutions driving necessary dialogues and championing advocacy to support the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, FMITI in the development and implementation of the SATS-C policy in Nigeria.
By Samuel
The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has trained stakeholders in the Shea Nut and Maize value chains on mechanisms to boost the production of the commodities.
The Shea Nut capacity development training which took center stage in Ibadan, was held from the 21st to 25th of September.
Likewise, in the same venue, maize value chain stakeholders had their training from the 28th of September to the 2nd of October, 2020.
NIRSAL reinforced the farmers and stakeholders by providing significant details on ways to bolster the value chains.
Participants at the workshop obtained firsthand information on NIRSAL’s activities from officials, who also gave answers to questions raised by participants.
The workshop focused on stakeholders from the pre-upstream, upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of Shea Nut and Maize value chains.
Technical sessions were also held for a day each, of which participants from each of the four sectors held discussions.
Presentations were also made to the officials after the daily group works.
At the end of the event, the farmers and stakeholders were issued Certificates of Participation at the end of each value chain workshop.
By Samuel
Farmers and stakeholders in the Southwest region have received extensive training on the impact of climate change on cotton production and the options for adaptation.
The two-day workshop was organised by the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and Quick Projects Limited.
Themed “NIRSAL Risk Profiling for Agricultural Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Programming”, the training held last Thursday and Friday in Ibadan.
According to the organisers, the training was geared towards providing critical solutions to the challenges bedeviling the value chain as regards climate change.
Coordinator of the training, Mr. Emem Akpan of Quick Projects Ltd, revealed that it sought to reinforce farmers on identifying hazards and assessing risks in the cotton value chain.
He added that training would help farmers identify underlying vulnerability factors and Identify adaptation options of climate change projections.
Some of the areas addressed included climate trends, analysis and the concept of sustainability.
Stakeholders were also trained in identifying and mapping value chain specific immediate and short, medium, and long term potential adaptation options to specific risks.
The participant worked in groups in the pre-upstream, upstream, midstream, and downstream of the cotton value chain.
By Samuel
The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has hit hard at media reports claiming that it dismissed Olalekan Olusanya, a former “a mid-level staff” at the institution in order to cover up fraudulent practice within the institution.
Media reports claimed that Olusanya, said to be an Acting Head of Internal Audit at NIRSAL, was dismissed by its Managing Director Aliyu A. Abdulhameed to cover-up multi-billion Naira fraud in the organisation.
News reports also have it that another staff, Olusola Omole, who was said to have been the head of a technical unit at the organization, was sacked by Abdulhameed to cover his financial misconduct.
Olusanya, according to news making rounds on social media, had knowledge of financial fraud said to be committed by Abdulhameed; hence his dismissal.
Trouble was said to have begun for the ex-employee in December last year after the Nigerian Senate received a petition from concerned Nigerians indicting Abdulhammed of money laundering and other misconducts.
Abdulhammed was said to have believed that the petition against him was instigated by Olusanya who had access to the company’s financial transactions.
While Olusanya was said to have tendered his resignation from the organization on April 30, 2020, after months of undergoing disciplinary sanctions at work, Olusanya received a letter of dismissal from NIRSAL on May 27, 2020.
NIRSAL in its reaction, however, noted that Olusanya violated laid down policies by the agency and took many unprofessional and dishonest actions that put both the institution and his fellow staff at risk.
The organization in a press statement dismissed the allegation that the managing director was engaged in a multi-billion fraud to be “totally without foundation.”
NIRSAL said, “It is unfortunate that the media house made no effort to verify any of the lurid claims in the report or reach out to NIRSAL Plc for a response in line with the basic standards of journalism.
“The story is anchored on a non-existent foundation because the main source of the invented “multi-billion fraud” in NIRSAL is a disgruntled former staff who fled NIRSAL while facing disciplinary action for breaching the terms of his employment.
“This individual, Olalekan Abimbola Olusanya has since been dismissed by the organization following an investigation that revealed his serial breaches of a number of the organization’s laid down policies. NIRSAL Plc. has since issued a disclaimer to this effect.
‘While at NIRSAL, Olusanya, a mid-level staff who falsely claimed in the false story that was fabricated by the media house, that he was Head of Internal Audit at NIRSAL, violated many internal processes and took many unprofessional and dishonest actions that put both the institution and his fellow staff at risk.
“One of such actions was that Olusanya compromised staff confidential information for monetary gain by archiving and illegally exposing the said information to outside parties.”
NIRSAL revealed that Olusanya’s action was against the clear provisions of the organization’s policy.
It noted that the ex-employee’s action led to the kidnapping of some of the institution’s staff members who were told by the kidnappers that they had the dossiers on NIRSAL staff salaries, their location, and family contacts.
“In spite of these and many other breaches, Olusanya was treated better than he treated the institution and his fellow staff in the course of the disciplinary action that he went through. As he acknowledged, he was still retained and paid his salaries for over 6 months after the event, until he was dismissed.
Amidst other false allegations by Olusanya, includes, the claim that the Managing Director of NIRSAL has engaged in “multi-billion fraud” is total without foundation,” it added.
NIRSAL noted that no one in the organization has access to any “funds” as its total capital structure was based on a debenture loan.
The institution explained that “NIRSAL’s seed capital/debenture loan is permanently invested in the FGN (Federal Government of Nigeria) Bonds and Treasury Bills and other money market instruments.
“The proceeds from such investments are what its board approves, through a budgetary process, for the management to pay salaries, the payout on guarantees given to farmers and other Agribusiness investors when their loans are unpaid.
“These proceeds are also used to train farmers, bankers, insurance industry players, rate and incentivize good borrowing/repayment behaviours by borrowers when they use NIRSAL Plc’s guarantees.”
NIRSAL said that it has grown its seed capital and constantly posted profits and facilitated over N100 billion from the financial sector into Nigerian agriculture.
It added that it has contributed to the creation of millions of jobs in the sector and other measurable impacts
By AgroNigeria
Data from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) will be effective in mitigating climate change risks, as well as elevating farmers’ productivity, the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has identified.
This is coming on the back of NiMET Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP), which it released earlier this year, warning farmers to avoid false-start rainfall.
Against this backdrop, NIRSAL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NiMET for the use of the agency’s data and other strategic services, to avoid catastrophic weather risk events.
Lauding NiMET stride in ensuring climate-smart agriculture, Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed, the Managing Director of NIRSAL, said the partnership, through the provision of agro-meteorological weather information, will aid finance and investment decisions.
According to the NIRSAL MD, the strategic partnership was a hallmark towards attaining precision agriculture.
Abdulhameed pointed that the MoU will fast-track the development of crop-specific calendars for NIRSAL’s focus commodities, to provide precise information on planting, maintenance, and harvesting, leveraging NiMET data.
NIRSAL would also pursue strategies to streamline the Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) components including temperature, onset of rainfall and dry spells, cessation of rainfall, among others to farmers.
The above was revealed by the Director-General of NiMET, Prof. Sani Abubakar Mashi, who said that the collaboration was a perfect fit for achieving its primary mandate of promoting climate-smart agriculture.
“We will, therefore, be developing site-specific cropping calendars in line with your focus commodities in the agricultural value chain across the country,” the NiMET boss said.
From Mashi’s comments, devastation accompanying extreme weather events have impacted agriculture, water resources, and the environment among other sectors.
NIRSAL will on its part, leverage on traditional and modern mass media platforms to disseminate information to farmers, to support activities in the upstream farming segment of crop value chains and mitigate climate risks.
By AgroNigeria
The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) under its Area Yield Index Insurance (AYII) has protected N6.5 billion in revenue of over 37,000 farmers in Nigeria.
In addition to the insurance cover, NIRSAL paid out compensation of more than N121 million for farmers who incurred losses to pests and adverse climate conditions.
Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed, Managing Director of NIRSAL who divulged this in an Agribusiness Summit in Lagos, said the move was in line with the organization’s mandate to de-risk the agribusiness finance value chain and build long-term capacity for farmers.
“Insurance is a critical measure deployed by NIRSAL in managing and mitigating risk. It is an essential component of NIRSAL’s five pillars,” he said.
NIRSAL’s Area Yield Index Insurance covers smallholder farmers on expected yield based on the historical yield performance in the Agro-Ecological Zone.
The initiative also seeks to protect farmers’ revenues from losses due to pests, diseases, adverse weather conditions, and other disasters.
According to the body, the AYII, under the strategic insurance pillar, was facilitated to give insurance leverage to primary producers, while expanding their products.
Meanwhile, NIRSAL has also made available 50 percent Credit Risk Guarantee for N2 billion working capital facility, to Agro Traders Limited – a Cocoa processing and export company in Ondo State.
In another development, NIRSAL in Kaduna, sanctioned over N6 billion by Stanbic IBTC Bank, for the facilitation of strategic projects in the pre-upstream and midstream segments of the agriculture sector.
By admin
“The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Plc is fully focused on delivering on its mandate of inspiring investor confidence in the viability of the Nigerian agricultural sector as a vehicle for overall national economic growth”. This point was made by the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Abdulhameed Aliyu, in a chat with AgroNigeria during which he debunked the recent spate of virtual media reports alleging financial and other improprieties in the company’s affairs.
According to the MD, the publications are wholly spurious and clear examples of how “ill-motivated lies can be peddled with ease on the internet”. In one of the reports, the journalists who could not be traced to any entity alleged that the NIRSAL boss’ son was arrested in Dubai with cash amounting to $5 million USD. The Dubai authorities were also alleged to have impounded a Lamborghini car from him. However, as Aliyu pointed out, “my son is here in Nigeria”.
It will be recalled that NIRSAL has, over the past few months, been the target of a series of virtual media publications, alleging mismanagement of funds and claiming that its Finance Director was summoned by the police for questioning.
According to some of the publications, Mr. Aliyu recently queried and suspended members of NIRSAL’s Account and Audit Department as a way of intimidating them.
The story, which was shared by a social media user on Twitter got an enquiry from Mrs. Abike Dabiri, the Presidential Assistant on Diaspora Affairs, who sought to know the ‘Federal Agency’ being alluded to in the speculative report.
Responding to the above state of affairs, the NIRSAL boss described it as ‘fake news’ and called on all well-meaning members of the public to disregard same, pointing out that the company, as an entity established solely for de-risking Nigerian agribusinesses is committed to its core mandate of providing third party guarantee on transactions consummated between Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) and their customers. “So our role is that of a catalyst for growth in the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy and we are doing quite well in this regard”, the MD pointed out.
He therefore urged NIRSAL and other government agencies servicing the agricultural community to reject and disregard attention seeking exercises and remain focused on moving the sector forward.
“They should continue to do their best to bring the dreams of farmers to reality”, he added.