The African Development Bank (AfDB), has disclosed its plan to disburse a $100 billion emergency facility to help African countries, including Nigeria, which would be used in tackling the rising prices of fertilisers.
The $100 billion emergency fund will aid the government and farmers in their fight in making fertiliser available and affordable.
BizWatch Nigeria understands that fertiliser prices have increased by over 180% in the last year. A bag of Urea increased from N6,000 to 17,000, posing threats to Nigeria’s food production.
Addressing journalists, Martin Fregene, AfDB’s Director, Agriculture and Agro-industry, said the bank would engage with member countries on policies with sustainable infrastructural efficiencies in Africa’s agricultural system.
“Rural infrastructure like storage and rural roads is what we need our countries to fix. The reason why Africa turns to Russia and Ukraine to buy cheap wheat and maize is that our local production is not competitive.
“We want African countries to be able to adapt better,” he added.
On his part, Kevin Karuiki, the Vice-president for Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth of AfDB, said the bank would support Nigeria in its transition plan.
While noting that Nigeria is one of the few countries that has evolved its nationally determined contribution (NDC) into a long-term vision, which is a foundational document for developing a long-term strategy, Karuiki said: “Now the long-term strategy is translated into the transition plan. So, we as a bank are very keen to support all African countries in developing their transition plans and translating them into a viable pipeline of projects.”
“So, right now, what I can say is that the bank is committed to supporting Nigeria, but we cannot be able to quantify the amount because we do not have a clear view of what projects will emanate from the transition that it’s formulating, also, the long-term strategy has also not been developed.
“Once the long-term vision that was developed last year before COP26 evolves into a long-term strategy and then you formulate a long-term transition plan, then that’s the point at which we can say a number of credible projects can be financed.
“I have met the government of Nigeria personally and we’ve committed to supporting Nigeria in that transition process, but I think there are some foundational documents that are required for us to be able to intelligently interrogate that transition plan, and therefore, indicate the extent to which the bank can support the transition plan,” he added.
