Nigeria has been awarded US $500,000 grant to boost agriculture in the country. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) issued the co-investment grant through its West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade hub) to PYXERA Global to boost food security pursuit.
“The USAID-funded West Africa Trade & Investment Hub has awarded a US $500,000 co-investment grant to PYXERA Global, a not-for-profit with extensive experience designing training and capacity-building programs, to support the launch of its West Africa Agriculture Resilience Program (WAFARP),” said Michael Clements, Trade hub’s chief of party in a statement.
The grant will assist 10,000 farmers cultivating rice, maize, and soybean within Nigeria’s Kebbi, Cross River, and Benue States. These states are focal areas for the Trade Hub in Nigeria, whose work aligns with and supports the mission of the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative.
PYXERA Global initiative
“Nigeria’s agricultural sector has been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, negatively impacting smallholder farmers and the communities of people who depend on their success in growing crops,” Mr Clements said.
The smallholder farmers PYXERA Global initiative would be leveraging on the existing agribusiness systems of Dantata Foods and Allied Products Company Limited (Dantata Foods), while PYXERA Global will provide an avenue for smallholders in its programme to increase crop yield and boost their incomes.
“We are excited about the potential of PYXERA Global’s West Africa Agriculture Resilience Program to bolster agricultural systems and expect to co-invest in other such programs as part of our COVID-19 rapid response initiative,” he added.
