THEAFRICABAZAAR Staff Writer
February 1, 2016
As part of its ongoing efforts to catalyze the reform of Nigeria’s agribusiness lending sector, and move the country toward food sufficiency, job creations and inclusive growth, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin I. Emefiele has approved the appointments of two executive directors to fill the administrative positions at Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, – an initiative of the Bank, the Bankers Committee and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development.
Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed has been appointed to the post of Managing Director and Babajide Arowosafe was named to the post of Executive Director.
These appointments underscored the CBN’s determination and commitment to refocus NIRSAL and lessen the risk associate with agricultural lending in Nigeria.
NIRSAL, established in 2012 as a non financial institution and a public company to promote economic development in the agriculture industry by stimulating credit flows as well as efficiently addressing key failures in the industry’s supply chains, manages the Risk Sharing Fund.
The fund is designed to identify, measure and evolve strategies that manage risks and catalyze lending to the Nigerian agriculture value chain.
So far, 454 projects valued at 61,161 billion Naira have been guaranteed by the NIRSAL. It has paid N753.36m in interest rebate to borrowers who repaid promptly to encourage good repayment behavior, according to information provided by CBN. At the end of 2014, 27,142 farmers across the country has been trained through the initiative.
Mr. Abdulhammed, a veteran of the agribusiness industry, has 22 years of corporate experience in agricultural finance and risk management and is currently an executive team member of NIRSAL.
Mr Arowosafe’s experience include jobs at the World Bank and the United Nations, where he worked in agriculture and micro-enterprises department. Most recently he was Commissioner for Agriculture & Natural Resources in Ekiti state.
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