The federal government has raised the Credit Risk Guarantee (CRG) for tomato crate financing to 75 per cent under the Dutch-funded HortiNigeria Programme, in a policy move expected to unlock over ?500 million in intervention funding for Nigeria?s horticulture sector.

Country Representative of the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and Programme Director of HortiNigeria, Mohamed Selassie Idris, announced this during the 47th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Food Security (NCAFS) held in Kaduna.

Idris explained that the CRG, which stood at 30 per cent a year ago and was later increased to 50 per cent, has now been scaled up to 75 per cent through the collaboration of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

He said the development would boost confidence among financial institutions, expand access to credit for agribusinesses, and significantly reduce post-harvest losses in the tomato value chain.

?This will strengthen the supply chain and enable more farmers and crate producers to access financing,? he said. ?The use of plastic crates has proven to reduce tomato damage during transport from northern states to southern markets.?

According to Idris, the new credit framework?supported by NIRSAL, will make available a ?500 million fund for crate manufacturing and distribution to farmers in major tomato-producing states.

He noted that the use of traditional raffia baskets often leads to as much as 50 per cent loss of produce when transported from states such as Kaduna and Kano to southern markets, but the adoption of plastic crates is changing that narrative.

The programme director said HortiNigeria?s partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the National Tomato Policy Committee aligns with ongoing reforms to modernise the horticulture sector and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

Funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands, HortiNigeria is implemented by a consortium led by IFDC in partnership with the East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT), KIT Institute, and Wageningen University & Research (WUR). (THE NATION)

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