Nigeria's independent online newspaper
The British International Investment , the United Kingdom’s development finance institution , and AFEX, a Nigerian commodities trading platform, have signed a $26.5 million partnership to support smallholder farmers in Africa.
According to the UK firm, the investment will be used to build 20 modern warehouses in strategic locations in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. This will be an addition to AFEX’s over “200 warehouses” already existing in the three countries.
“Currently, farmers face a difficult financial outlook due to macroeconomic uncertainty, limited market access, and poor reliability of sales from crop harvests. Yields have fallen, and farmers’ incomes are increasingly affected by price hikes of agricultural inputs and extreme weather events. The federal government said savings from the petrol subsidy removal would be deployed in revamping the agricultural sector, and pledged that some initiatives would be executed to reverse the inflationary trend and guarantee future uninterrupted supplies of affordable foods to Nigerians.Speaking at the BII-AFEX partnership event, Jonny Baxter, the British deputy high commissioner in Lagos, said the investment will enhance agricultural productivity and bolster food security in Nigeria.