Morocco-Nigeria: NIRSAL, GCAM renew partnership in agric sector

Six years after signing their first agreement in 2016, Groupe Crédit Agricole du Maroc (GCAM) and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing system for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Plc have just strengthened their partnership by renewing the agreement.

The NIRSAL-GCAM MoU was recently re-signed by NIRSAL Plc’s Managing Director/CEO, Aliyu Abdulhameed, and GCAM’s Chairman, Tariq Sijilmassi, at GCAM’s Headquarters in Morocco.

The NIRSAL-GCAM MoU is geared towards promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development of the agricultural sectors of both countries with a focus on smallholder farmers and agribusinesses.

NIRSAL and GCAM also re-established areas of mutual interests and collaboration such as the promotion of B2B relationships, capacity building, knowledge transfer and digital agribusiness risk management solutions.

“Crédit Agricole du Maroc received on May 20, 2022, a delegation from the Nigeria Incentive Risk Sharing in Agricultural Lending, NIRSAL Plc.

“This visit is part of the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding concluded between the two parties on December 2, 2016 before His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Since the conclusion of this agreement, Crédit Agricole du Maroc and NIRSAL have put in place a roadmap for the deployment of this partnership around the main subjects of common interest.

“Over the past period, discussions have focused on innovative financing models capable of stimulating the development of sustainable and inclusive agriculture in Nigeria

“This reinforcement will make it possible to consolidate the achievements of the previous agreement by placing greater emphasis on the most promising innovations in agricultural financing, as has been the case since the conclusion of the agreement of December 2, 2016.

“CAM and NIRSAL have put in place a roadmap for the deployment of their partnership around the main topics of common interest.

“Over the past period, discussions have focused on innovative financing models capable of stimulating the development of sustainable and inclusive agriculture in Nigeria,” CAM said in a statement obtained by Persecondnews.

Launched in 2011 and incorporated in 2013 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NIRSAL is a public-private initiative created to promote investments in agriculture, through credit guarantees on loans granted to farmers, agro-industrial investors, and other operators of the agricultural sector.