NIRSAL Partners NASENI On 110,000 Jobs, Agric Mechanisation

• Thinks end-to-end climate smart irrigation, innovative solutions

BY COBHAM NSA – The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) is partnering with the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to boost Agricultural Value Chains (AVC) in the country.

The collaboration seeks to support NIRSAL’s resolve at mandate delivery in providing end-to-end solutions aimed at fixing breakages within the AVC

Consequently, NIRSAL Plc will be leveraging on NASENI as its technical collaborative partner for the conceptualization, design, development, deployment, implementation and execution of various schemes and projects under the NIRSAL-NASENI Comprehensive Tractor Recovery Scheme.

Other areas include: NIRSAL Climate-Smart Modular Geo-Cooperative-Based Irrigation System for Smallholder Farmers and other Agricultural Value Chain-related challenges requiring efficient homegrown scientific and engineering solutions for proof of concept projects and scale-up, to attract finance and investment into fixed AVCs

To effectively drive this partnership, both NIRSAL and NASENI will crowd-in stakeholders from all AVC segments to create AVC-wide commercially viable platforms anchored on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

According to documents sealing the act, “to make up for the deficit in tractors and other mechanization equipment, NIRSAL Plc and NASENI will recover and reinvigorate idle agricultural equipment for enhanced mechanization of Agricultural Value Chains in Nigeria.

“In addition to the above, the technological capacity of NASENI in the area of solar modules production creates a critical backbone in the provision of off-grid energy to power modular irrigation and agro-processing clusters that are domiciled within NIRSAL Agro Geo-Cooperative clusters.

“Critically, in addition to optimizing the capacity of NASENI, the partnership, like all of NIRSAL Plc’s strategic interventions, will create widespread socioeconomic development.”

The document statement further explained that; “Specifically, at least 110,000 jobs will be created, 10,000 directly and 100,000, indirectly, another instance of NIRSAL Plc’s support of the Federal Government’s efforts to achieve economic stability and prosperity for Nigerians.”

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIRSAL Plc, Aliyu Abdulhameed, is confident the partnership would ensure that there are sustainable fixes to identified challenges facing the Agric-business Sector in Nigeria.

He said the collaboration will aid in maximizing the nation’s agricultural potentials, thereby contributing to the achievement of food security; inclusive economic growth; diversification; and employment generation.

Abdulhameed, who spoke at the agreement signing in NIRSAL Plc’s Head office, Abuja, affirmed the organisation’s resolve to ensure the partnership succeeds, adding that NIRSAL Plc would extend its Credit Risk Guarantee (CRG) cover to finance invested into the scheme; provide Project Monitoring, Reporting and Remediation services; provide technical assistance, capacity building & advisory services and create, provide & facilitate capital market opportunities.

In his remarks at the occasion, Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Engineer Prof. Mohammed Sani Haruna, said the Agency would “provide cutting edge research and development on innovative approaches for all the schemes and projects under the agreement to advance mechanization, modular irrigation activities and other agricultural engineering solutions across Agricultural Value Chains.”

This latest intervention by NIRSAL in promoting the adoption of mechanized farming follows the collaborative NIRSAL Comprehensive Agricultural Mechanization Program (NCAMP), developed and deployed in collaboration with Machines and Equipment Corporation Africa (MECA) and NASENI.

Beyond this newly consummated NASENI partnership, NIRSAL’s optimized operating system embeds end-to-end mechanization in all its activities with smallholder farmers across the country.