AfDB grants Togo $5.4 million to boost its agricultural production

Agriculture
Monday, 18 July 2022 17:36
AfDB grants Togo $5.4 million to boost its agricultural production

(Togo First) - Togo will get $5.39 million from the AfDB to boost its food sovereignty and help its small farmers be more resilient as the war in Ukraine continues. The grant was recently approved by the regional lender. 

"The sharp rise in fertilizer prices and the difficulty for small and vulnerable producers to obtain fertilizer are likely to cause a drop in the rate of fertilizer use and affect future agricultural production," said Wilfrid Abiola, AfDB Country Manager in Togo.

With this money, 25,500 farmers, 40% of them being women, should get 500 tons of certified climate-resilient seeds and 7,700 tons of fertilizers, according to the Abidjan-based bank.

Besides, part of the funds will be used to valorize 25,500 ha of land. Also, farmers will frequently get information to cope with climate change issues, and institutions–such as the Agricultural Inputs Management and Supply Central, the Technical Support and Advice Institute, the National Agency for Food Security, and the Agricultural Financing Incentive Mechanism (MIFA)–which contribute significantly to agriculture in Togo will benefit from capacity-building missions. 

Subsequently, Togo hopes to produce 37,00 tons more of grains over the current and coming agricultural seasons. The resulting output should guarantee food and nutritional security for nearly 120,000 people according to the AfDB’s forecasts. 

“The budget support just approved by our Board of Directors is to assist the government in its efforts to support vulnerable small-scale producers,” Abiola said.

The grant is part of AfDB’s $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility launched on May 20, 2022. This facility aims to provide 20 million African smallholder farmers with certified seeds (wheat, rice, corn, soybean). It should enable these farmers to produce 38 million tons of food in the next two years. 

Besides Togo, other beneficiaries include Chad, South Sudan, Niger, Burundi, Senegal, and Madagascar.

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