Success Story
USAID Supports Kaduna Grain Aggregator to Access Finance and Boost Global Food Security
As the world faces unprecedented challenges and worsening food crises, the demand for grain has skyrocketed and, with it, its cost. In Nigeria, producers and marketers like Kaduna-based grain aggregator Adefunke Desh Nigeria Ltd have the opportunity to help meet growing local and international demand by producing more grain and seizing a larger chunk of the global grain market.
Adefunke Desh Nigeria Ltd specializes in the cultivation and processing of grains such as maize, sorghum, millet and soybeans for local and international buyers. To help ensure the consistent supply of grain, they work with companies in North-West Nigeria who produce fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), such as Cadbury PLC, Nestle PLC, Flour Mills Ltd, Guinness Nigeria and other specialized feed and food processing companies.
In an effort to scale up operations, Adefunke Desh Nigeria Ltd partnered with the USAID-funded Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity to receive support in accessing finance valued at over $4,705,882 (1.5 billion Naira) from financial institutions across the country. The Activity provided training on good agronomic practices to 348 lead farmers in the company’s outgrower network during the 2021 wet season, which qualified the farmers to receive input loans worth $4.2 million (1.6 billion Naira). They also helped improve farmers’ knowledge on cultivation best practices, which increased their productivity and incomes, and in turn, improved Adefunke Desh’s production and supply.
Adefunke Desh representative displays communication collateral developed during Activity workshop.
Simultaneously, the Activity supported the agribusiness to develop a planting management database, which helps them manage their farmers’ progress and track input distribution, farming and harvesting information. They also facilitated an organizational performance improvement intervention which helped the firm strengthen their operations and engage in an environmental and social impact assessment. This support enabled Adefunke Desh Nigeria Ltd to access an additional $2,910,621 (1.3 billion Naira) in finance through the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, distributed by Sterling Bank PLC.
“We were able to easily access finance because our organizational performance improved with support from the USAID Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity and the environmental and social compliance they helped us to obtain. We are excited at what lies ahead of us,” said Adeoluwa Adeshola, Adefunke Desh’s managing director.
The ongoing support provided by the Activity continues to help Adefunke Desh Nigeria Ltd achieve their expansion, drive their competitiveness and increase the incomes of smallholder farmers within their network. With a solid reputation for producing and supplying top-quality grains to FMCG companies, Adefunke Desh Nigeria Ltd is well on its way to becoming a market leader among grain aggregators in Nigeria’s agricultural sector. Additionally, by maintaining a consistent and reliable supply chain for grain cultivation, aggregation and processing in Nigeria, the firm, and by extension, the Activity, is boosting food security across the country and around the globe.