AFOS Foundation, a Germany-based charitable foundation, has committed over €5.5 million (N2.7 billion) to improve the performance of small farmers, agricultural companies, microfinance banks (MfBs), and their networks across agriculture value chains.
The Chief Executive Officer and Country Representative, Mr Oladipupo Akoni, who stated this during a stakeholders’ roundtable at the weekend, said the foundation commenced its project activities in the Nigerian agriculture sector in 2017.
He said the fund went for capacity building, value-driven organizational development, management development, corporate governance and product development interventions.
He said, “Since the commencement of its agricultural project activities in Nigeria in 2017, AFOS Foundation has reached over 45,000 smallholder farmers in the country with the attendant positive impacts on their skills, productivity and earned incomes, and targets to reach 60,000 small farmers by the end of 2024.”
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Akoni also said to consolidate the foundation’s achievements in Nigeria, AFOS’ projects are now focusing on improved agricultural practices for Smallholder Farmers (SHF), vocational training and agric financing for MFBs.
On the benefits of the intervention, the foundation’s CEO said: “AFOS’ ongoing project, which is the Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) being facilitated by our implementation partner in Nigeria, MLDC, will have a tremendous impact on the Nigerian agricultural sector by addressing its skills and development challenges, as well as capacity replacement, especially in this era of massive emigration.”
Participants at the event included a delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria, CHI Farms (TGI Group), Big-Dutchman, TUNS Farms, Dayntee Farms among others.
