To enhance food security and provide employment for women in Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc has partnered with the United Nations on an initiative to provide seed $40 million (about N15.4 billion) up to 2023.
The UN initiative, tagged ‘The UN Women Project’, is also to close the gender gap in agricultural productivity and incomes while increasing their access to resources and markets.
The initiative targets six states including Ogun, Ebonyi, Cross River, Niger, Bauchi and Sokoto, as well as the FCT.
The bank in a statement said it was in line with the federal government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2016-2020). The UN Women partnered with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) on this.
Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC is piloting it by providing funding to support women working in the shea nut and rice value chains in Niger and Ebonyi States.
The pilot programme is expected to reach 30 women-owned agribusiness organisations and cooperatives in five LGAs of the states.
The bank’s head of Agribusiness Banking, Wole Oshin, said the key objective of the project is to create resource centres in both states for capacity building, data creation and management.
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