NIRSAL, NRC Begin North-South Movement of Grains by Rail

By James Emejo in Abuja

The Nigerian Incentive Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) in collaboration with the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) on Tuesday inaugurated a unique scheme to move grains from the northern part of the country to markets, industrial zones and ports in the south.

In the first stage of the initiative, a consignment of 800 tonnes of soyabeans left Funtua, Katsina State for Apapa port, Lagos after a brief ceremony from where it will be loaded onto ships for exports.

Managing Director of NIRSAL, Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed, at the ceremony, said the scheme was in line with the focus of the federal government on making agriculture a key anchor of economic diversification.

According to him, the scheme would help to drastically reduce the cost of transportation of grains, enhance the income of small holder farmers, boost exports and preserve scarce foreign exchange in line with the agricultural promotion policy of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Details later…