The AFOS Foundation, an independent German charity, has announced plans to invest about €5.5 million in Nigeria’s agricultural sector as an “Intervention.”
Mr. Oladipupo Akoni, the foundation’s chief executive officer and country representative, announced in a statement released on Monday.
He was addressing the audience at Lagos’s inaugural stakeholder’s roundtable.
Akoni claims the foundation was established to aid emerging economies’ growing middle classes and small businesses.
“AFOS foundation has invested heavily towards development of the sector through capacity building, value-driven organizational development, management development, corporate governance, and product development interventions.
“It is strengthening the Nigeria agricultural sector by improving the performance of smallholder farmers, agricultural companies, microfinance banks, as well as their networking across the sector’s value chains.
“Since the commencement of its agricultural project activities in Nigeria in 2017, AFOS Foundation has reached over 45,000 smallholder farmers in Nigeria with the resultant positive impact on their skills, productivity and earned incomes.
“We target to reach 60,000 smallholder farmers by the end of 2024,”
He explained that the projects’ current emphasis was on better agricultural practices for smallholder farmers in Nigeria to build on previous successes.
“We are also focusing on institutionalized dual vocational training systems, value-based management training, and development of an agricultural training center.
“These are in addition to micro-insurance product development, Agric finance training and sensitization for the microfinance sub-sector,” he said.
He claimed the agricultural sector would benefit significantly from the projects.
“The ongoing project will have tremendous impact on the Nigerian agricultural sector by addressing its skills and development challenges.
“It will also address capacity replacement, especially in this era of massive emigration,“ he said.
As reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the AFOS Foundation, a nonprofit organization established to assist micro and small businesses and the expanding middle class in developing and emerging nations, is bolstering the Nigerian agricultural sector by enhancing the efficiency of individual farmers, agricultural businesses, microfinance banks (MfBs), and their collaboration across the sector’s value chains.
