Press Release

USAID Activity Joins the Feed Nigeria Summit 2021

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity announced their sponsorship of the Feed Nigeria Summit organized by Agro Nigeria in collaboration with other public and private sector actors within Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

Implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), the Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity is a five-year USAID-funded program, which aims to strengthen the enabling environment for agribusiness finance and investment in Nigeria. This sponsorship, along with the Activity’s work in Nigeria, reinforces the Activity’s commitment to strengthen the country’s agribusiness enabling environment, ensuring food security and tackling hunger. The acting managing director and chief of party, Harris Ayuk-Takor made the announcement in his address during the Pre-Webinar Summit and Panel Discussion held yesterday, August 19 virtually.

“The Feed Nigeria Summit provides us with the opportunity to engage with key stakeholders to increase the depth, breadth, dynamism and competitiveness of Nigeria’s agribusiness sector. Through this summit, we look forward to working closely with Agro Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and other actors to facilitate agribusiness finance and investments in Nigeria,” said Ayuk-Takor.

The Activity focuses on four interrelated components: improving the enabling environment for agricultural sector growth; broadening access to finance by mitigating credit risks of agribusinesses; promoting and facilitating investment opportunities for agribusinesses to expand and scale up operations; and sustainably enhancing the performance of agribusiness micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs). The Activity focuses on five value chains: rice, maize, soybean, cowpea and aquaculture and has a geographic concentration in seven states: Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger.

Running from December 2018 to December 2023, the Activity will facilitate new lending for at least 5,000 agribusinesses and new investments across the five value chains in the seven designated states. In line with the U.S. and Nigerian governments’ commitment to growing the non-oil-based economy, these efforts will increase the depth, breadth, dynamism and competitiveness of Nigeria’s agribusiness sector.

The Activity’s participation in this year’s Feed Nigeria Summit highlights its commitment to collaborate and partner with other public and private sector actors in Nigeria to improve the agribusiness enabling environment and support critical infrastructural provision, technological innovation, mechanization and extension as core components of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD’s) policy thrust.

At the core of the Summit is the Mezzanine Deal Brokerage Room, which is wholly dedicated to forging investment partnerships between agricultural enterprises and investors. This holds special interest for the Activity, as the Deal Room forms part of their engagement strategy with agribusiness micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the financial sector. By participating in the Mezzanine Deal Room, the Activity hopes to contribute its experience in creating commercially viable linkages to catalyze new agribusiness investments.

“By providing business development services and supporting strategic partnerships at our Deal Rooms, the Activity strengthens market linkages and the competitiveness of smallholder farmers and agribusiness MSMEs to take advantage of emerging investment opportunities,” said Ayuk-Takor.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.

For more information about the Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity, visit our website at https://www.cnfa.org/program/nigeria-agribusiness-investment-activity/

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About CNFA: Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) is an international agricultural development organization that specializes in the design and implementation of sustainable, enterprise-based agricultural initiatives. We work with businesses, foundations, governments, and communities to build customized local and global partnerships that meet the world’s growing demand for food. Since our inception in 1985, we have designed and implemented enterprise-based, agricultural development initiatives to facilitate market access, enhance agribusiness competitiveness, increase productivity, and improve access to inputs and financing in 47 countries around the world.