BY EDMOND ODOK – The Nigeria Incentive-based Risk-sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Plc and Polaris Bank have doled out a N1 billion working capital facility for Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited (GFL) to further consummate their partnership in agriculture and agribusiness financing.
GFL is an integrated poultry farm in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, South South Nigeria.
Delivering on its mandate of sharing agribusinesses related credit risks with commercial lenders, NIRSAL provided a 50 percent guarantee on the facility to boost Globetrot’s operations across the farm’s hatchery, breeder, broiler, feed mill, and processing components.
Importantly, this financial backing for Globetrot Limited has impacted positively on farmers and consumers of poultry products alike in Oyigbo, Port Harcourt, and environs, with potentially better deals for suppliers of inputs, buyers of day-old-chicks and organic manure, and off takers of poultry.
As part of on-site support for the project, executives from NIRSAL and Polaris Bank recently visited Globetrot Integrated Farm at Obeakpu in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State where the Business Development and Finance Manager, Mr Charles Adigwe took the team on a facility tour.
In his remarks during the visit, Managing Director and CEO of NIRSAL Plc, Mr. Abbas Umar Masanawa, said Polaris Bank demonstrated foresight by financing Globetrot under NIRSAL’s de-risked financing model.
According to him, the bank is set to maximize the economic opportunities and returns available in Nigeria’s agricultural landscape.
He expressed happiness at the passion and professionalism displayed by the Management and staff of Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited, noting that this is a confidence booster with regard to optimum loan utilization and prompt repayment.
Speaking earlier, Mr Charles Adigwe, who represented the Managing Director of Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited, Mr. Akpa Innocent Nnanyereugu, appreciated NIRSAL and Polaris Bank, for the credit facility extended to the farm, as well as finding it worthwhile to visit the business and showcase its value offerings to the larger audience.
Also speaking at the occasion, Branch Manager of Polaris Bank, Garrison Branch, Mr. Ejike Aroh, who was represented, celebrated the valuable business collaboration with NIRSAL Plc and Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited.
Aroh reiterated Polaris Bank’s commitment to agribusiness financing, not just for its profitability, but also for the empowerment it directly or indirectly brings to rural Nigerians and their communities.
The tripartite relationship between NIRSAL Plc, Globetrot Farmsponsor Ltd., and Polaris Bank is part of the growing outcomes of NIRSAL Plc’s high-level engagements with Deposit Money Banks, Merchant Banks, Finance Houses, MDAs of Government, local and international Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), and sub-national governments, wooing them into an agriculture/agribusiness space that is witnessing paradigmatic changes on account of NIRSAL’s work.
Prior to this development, the NIRSAL boss had led a small team on a sustained run of visits to MDAs in Abuja as well as banks and other financial institutions in Lagos, seeking partnerships for outcomes like the growth of Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited, and the development of new vistas for impactful investment in and around agriculture.
Bolstered by the Federal Government’s commitment to the pursuit of food security, the team also plans to visit State governments to propose mutually beneficial partnerships in the design and implementation of viable agricultural development programmes for job creation, food security, and economic growth.
A creation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and the Bankers’ Committee, NIRSAL seeks to address the low credit levels going into the agriculture sector by unlocking sustainable financing sources for agriculture and agribusiness in Nigeria.
