IFAD, AFD Sign Co-financing Deal to Drive Rural Transformation in Northern Nigeria

Search Search Login Saturday, November 14, 2026 Avert Rates Search DAILYNEWS Search @2022 – All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by PenciDesign

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have signed a co-financing agreement to support the Value Chain Programme in Northern Nigeria (VCN). The signing is a milestone in the programme’s start-up.

Mohamed El-Ghazaly, IFAD Country Director for Nigeria, and Jacky Amprou, AFD Country Director, signed the agreement in Abuja.

VCN is a flagship programme of the Federal Government of Nigeria. It is co-financed by IFAD, AFD and the governments of nine participating states: Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

The programme aims to reduce poverty, improve nutrition and make rural communities more resilient. It will do this through inclusive and sustainable development of agricultural value chains. IFAD and AFD say this will strengthen food and nutrition security, raise rural household incomes and support wider rural transformation across the north.

VCN is currently in its inception phase. The agreement confirms the two institutions’ commitment to working with the federal and state governments to deliver it on time and effectively.

Under the partnership framework between the two institutions, IFAD will be the lead co-financier. It will provide technical, fiduciary, environmental and social support services for AFD’s financing of the programme.

The agreement sets up a coordinated framework under which IFAD and AFD will jointly finance programme components and activities. Implementation will follow agreed policies, procedures and accountability arrangements meant to promote efficiency, transparency and effective use of resources.

“This agreement will streamline implementation processes and procedures and provide a more coherent framework for programme delivery,” El-Ghazaly said. He added that it would make the work of the lead implementing agency easier. It would also help the programme coordination offices at national and state levels manage activities more effectively.

Amprou said the signing “demonstrates the strategic partnership AFD has with IFAD, as well as the strong commitment of our two institutions to supporting the Nigerian Government in addressing rural poverty, food insecurity and vulnerability in the country’s northern states.” He called it “a significant step towards the full operationalization of VCN.”

IFAD and AFD urged the federal government and the nine state governments to speed up the remaining start-up activities. These include the measures needed to be ready for the programme start-up workshop planned for early December 2026.

The two institutions said they remain committed to inclusive agricultural growth, stronger rural livelihoods and more resilient food systems in northern Nigeria.

I used only facts and quotes from the release. It gives no financing amounts, so I included none. If you have them, they would make a good addition to the opening paragraphs.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

AgroNigeria is a pioneer brand for agricultural “online” news publishing through its media publishing platform available 24hrs to over 30 Million internet users within Nigeria and other online readers internationally.