Barbara Bako, Abuja
The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc.) and Polaris Bank have provided a N1 billion working capital facility for Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited, an integrated poultry farm in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State.
According to a statement from NIRSAL on Thursday, this is to consummate their partnership with Polaris Bank in agriculture and agribusiness financing.
With a mandate to share agribusinesses related credit risks with commercial lenders, NIRSAL provided a 50% guarantee on the facility to boost Globetrot’s operations across the farm’s hatchery, breeder, broiler, feed mill, and processing components.
This support for Globetrot Limited has positive implications for farmers and consumers of poultry products alike in Oyigbo, Port Harcourt, and environs, as suppliers of inputs, buyers of day-old-chicks and organic manure, and offtakers of poultry get potentially better deals.
Executives from NIRSAL and Polaris Bank visited Globetrot Integrated Farm at Obeakpu in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State and were given a tour of the facility by its Business Development and Finance Manager, Mr. Charles Adigwe.
Speaking during the visit, Mr. Abbas Umar Masanawa, OON, Managing Director/CEO of NIRSAL Plc, stated that Polaris Bank had demonstrated foresight by financing Globetrot under NIRSAL’s de-risked financing model. He added that the bank is set to maximize the economic opportunities and returns available in Nigeria’s agricultural landscape.
Masanawa was pleased with the passion and professionalism of the Management and staff of Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited, a confidence booster with regard to optimum loan utilization and prompt repayment.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Mr. Charles Adigwe, who represented the Managing Director of Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited, Mr. Akpa Innocent Nnanyereugu, thanked NIRSAL and Polaris Bank, not just for the credit facility made available to the farm, but for also finding it worthwhile to pay the business a visit and showcase its value offerings to a large audience.
Mr. Ejike Aroh, Branch Manager of Polaris Bank, Garrison Branch, who was represented, celebrated the valuable business they are doing with NIRSAL Plc and Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited.
He restated Polaris Bank’s commitment to agribusiness financing, not just for its profitability, but also for the empowerment it directly or indirectly brings to rural Nigerians and their communities.
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The tripartite relationship between NIRSAL Plc, Globetrot Farmsponsor Ltd., and Polaris Bank is part of the growing outcomes of NIRSAL Plc’s high-level engagements with Deposit Money Banks, Merchant Banks, Finance Houses, MDAs of Government, local and international Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), and sub-national governments, wooing them into an agriculture/agribusiness space that is witnessing paradigmatic changes on account of NIRSAL’s work.
Weeks prior, the NIRSAL boss had led a small team on a sustained run of visits to MDAs in Abuja and banks and other financial institutions in Lagos, seeking partnerships for outcomes like the growth of Globetrot Farmsponsor Limited, and the development of new vistas for impactful investment in and around agriculture.
Buoyed by the federal government’s commitment to the pursuit of food security, the team also plans to visit state governments to propose mutually beneficial partnerships in the design and implementation of viable agricultural development programmes for job creation, food security, and economic growth.
