ITFC and OCP Africa will jointly introduce a new “OCP School lab”
\ncampaign in Senegal in November 2019<\/p>\n
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, (ITFC,
\nInternational Islamic Trade Finance Corporation) (ITFC-IDB.org), a
\nmember of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, and OCP Africa )
\n(OCPAfrica.com), a subsidiary of OCP SA, have signed a Memorandum of
\nUnderstanding (MoU) that will cater towards strategic funding,
\ninnovation and capacity building measures to increase agricultural
\nproduction yields and income levels for Africa’s smallholder farmers.
\nThe agreement was signed between Mr Karim Lotfi Senhadji, CEO, OCP
\nAfrica and ITFC CEO, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol.<\/p>\n
The MoU will increase collaboration between ITFC and OCP Africa in
\nvarious areas, including\u00a0 smallholder farmer training on sound
\nagricultural practices; soil testing and fertility management to support
\nbetter yields; innovation and digitalization tools to modernize
\nagricultural practices; and capacity building and support of young
\nfarmers for sustainable and inclusive development.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the MoU, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO, ITFC, said that the
\ncooperation with OCP Africa is in line with ITFC’s mandate to support
\nthe development of strategic value chains in countries member of the
\nOrganization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). “The services provided by
\nITFC in the agricultural sector, both in terms of trade financing and
\ntactial support, has expanded significantly over the past years,
\ntargeting critical areas of the value chain, from farm input to
\nprocessing, pre-export, and export. The sector is also one of the value
\nchains that is ready for innovation and SME development.”<\/p>\n
OCP Africa’s CEO, Karim Lotfi Senhadji said, “The smallholder farmer is
\ncentral to OCP Africa’s strategy to support the transition of farming
\ncommunities from subsistence farming to modern, sustainable
\nagri-business. Our aim is to strengthen the continent’s agriculture
\necosystems thus enabling African farmers to prosper. The agreement with
\nITFC will support efforts to train farmers on best farming practices,
\ntest soils for accurate fertilizer recommendations, facilitate access to
\nfinancing, and improve access to markets”.<\/p>\n
ITFC and OCP Africa will jointly introduce a new “OCP School lab”
\ncampaign in Senegal in November 2019. A flagship program of OCP Africa,
\nOCP School Lab is an innovative program aimed at increasing the yields
\nand the incomes of smallholder’s farmers on strategic crops by offering
\na full set of agri-services:<\/p>\n
A School: interactive training sessions with live demos on good
\nagricultural practices and animated videos in local dialects for higher
\nimpact
\nA mobile Lab: Soil-testing using latest innovations (X-rays, big data
\nand machine learning) and live information on soil needs and fertilizer
\nrecommendations
\nITFC has been providing significant support to ensure food security in
\nSub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, trade finance approvals for the food &
\nagriculture sector amounted to US$749.6 million, representing 14.4% of
\nthe total trade finance portfolio, a 71% increase compared to the
\nprevious year. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 50% of ITFC’s food &
\nagriculture sector financing extended in 2018.<\/p>\n
ITFC and OCP Africa will jointly introduce a new “OCP School lab” campaign in Senegal in November 2019 The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, (ITFC, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n