NIRSAL, Firm to Boost Farmers’ Output by 40%

• NIRSAL, Firm to Boost Farmers’ Output by 40%

The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Syngenta Agrochemical Company to deepen access to technology for smallholder farmers.

NIRSAL is a risk-sharing system created by the Central Bank of Nigeria with a mandate to enhance the flow of affordable finance and investments into fixed agricultural value chains.

The partnership between NIRSAL and Syngenta is designed to ensure basic business management; end-to-end agronomy; crop protocols; and safe and effective use of crop protection products.

The pact will enable Syngenta to provide smallholder farmers with technological insights on how to increase their yield by between 40 per cent and 80 per cent.

Speaking in Abuja at the official signing of the agreement, the Managing Director, NIRSAL Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed, said the partnership would engender increased production, particularly for smallholder farmers in the country.

This, he noted, would be achieved by linking farmers to quality inputs, access to modern technology, packages of practice and trainings on the best agronomical practices to achieve optimal yields.

He said, “Our farmers need simple and reliable ways to maximise their yields. The thrust is to take a holistic approach and create integrated and tailored solutions.

“All these combined with advanced crop protection science, quality seeds delivering higher yields, and agronomic advice based on our deep insights into how smallholder farmers’ work can increase yield by over 40 per cent and 80 per cent.”

Abdulhameed stated that NIRSAL would continue to work with key value chain players to develop and ensure the adoption of sustainable productivity enhancing technology and practices for smallholder farmers.

He said some of the key challenges confronting Nigeria as a nation were how to ensure food security, feed a rising population and ensure sustainable income for its smallholder farmers constituting the largest portion of the farming populace.