Sterling Bank Plc has partnered with Mercy Corps, a humanitarian group, to train 90,000 farmers on custom agricultural practices. The training programme, tagged “Feed The Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity” is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It will span over a five-year period and is an offshoot of the USAID ‘Feed the Future’ project, and the project is worth $15.7 million.
In 2019, the USAID had launched the ‘Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment’ activity to create a business environment that would encourage private sector investment within agriculture.
Country Director, Mercy Corps Nigeria, Ndubuisi Anyanwu, stated that the project has become necessary considering the need to support critical sectors and stakeholders in parts of Nigeria. Speaking on the partnership with Sterling Bank, Anyanwu added that the collaboration is due to the bank’s commitment and expertise in financing the agriculture sector.
Group Head, Agriculture, and Solid Mineral Finance, Sterling Bank, Bukola Awosanya, echoed this sentiment, adding that there is a need to help chart the country on its way to economic recovery and food sufficiency. Awosanya added that agriculture is pivotal to the bank’s strategy as a financial institution, stating “Nigeria will only prosper when we place priority on core areas of our national life”.
