AFEX targets 50,000 farmers in input financing programme, plans food security fund
AFEX COMMO DITIES EX CHANGE LI MITED has planned to double the impact of its input financing programme to reach 50,000 farmers in the current year from 25,000 in 2018.
The exchange uses the input financing program to help Nigerian smallholder farmers to access necessary inputs like fertilizers and Crop Protection Products (CPPs) that are beyond their reach due to them having limited income and access to credit.
While highlighting its plans for 2019, Obianuju Okafor, communications executive for AFEX noted that it had surpassed the 2018 target, as it reached over 25,000 farmers in the wet and dry season input programme.
«More farmers in our input program means better yields and productivity from agricultural activities in 2019, but it also means better quality of life for smallholder farmers on an individual level,» Okafor said.
The company also has plans to set up a Food Security Fund that will provide scalable financing structures to agriculture in towards achieving food security, which is one of the biggest goals and challenges for developing countries, Nigeria not exempt.
«Setting up this fund and working towards food security for our nation is one of the biggest goals for AFEX Nigeria this year,» she stated.
The exchange is also introducing a range of products for the Capital market as it will be launching the first Commodities Index in Africa in the first quarter of 2019.
Along with the AFEX Commodity Index (ACI) will also come other instruments for investors interested in gaining exposure to commodity backed assets. This will include the Exchange Traded Commodity (ETC), which will be a commodity backed asset bought and sold on the Exchange.
These historical products, to be launched by AFEX Nigeria, will make investing in commodities accessible to all investors.
AFEX Nigeria will be putting on the second «Code Cash Crop» event as part of the 2019 Social Media Week Lagos (SMW Lagos) session lineup. «This will give us yet another opportunity to gather enthusiasts in the technology (code), finance (cash) and agriculture (Crop) space to have conversations about possible avenues for collaboration and impact.»
«The theme for the 2019 Code Cash Crop event is payment solutions for rural agrarian communities, and we already have a speaker lineup that will guarantee an engaging and insightful panel discussion.»
Also, according to Okafor, a partnership between AFEX Nigeria and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), which began in 2018, to finance exports in the agricultural sector will continue.
«NEXIM, which has benefited from CBN’s reinstatement of the N500 billion Export Stimulation Facility (ESF), which included a N50 billion Direct Intervention Fund for NEXIM to boost non-oil exports, is financing various projects in the non-oil sector including those identified in the agricultural sector, and AFEX Nigeria is serving as collateral managers for the identified agriculture linked projects.»
She said the partnership will continue to promote export stimulation in the country leading to such benefits as inflow of funds into the country via the receipt of export proceeds, increased production output in the country which will lead to higher employment rates, increased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, and higher foreign exchange earnings for the government.