Financing Sustainable Development Ideas for Action; Innovative PPP Model for Promoting Financial Deepening and Inclusion in the Rice Value Chain in Nigeria.

The goal of the proposal is to provide a practical and scalable innovative solution for improving access to customized financing for smallholder farmers in the rice value chain, thus promoting sustainable poverty reduction in Nigeria. This proposal first examines the challenges of smallholder rice farmers, including inadequate institutional frameworks and agricultural policies, limited access to financing, and lack of adequate storage facilities. In addition, there are gender-related social issues: the land tenure system makes it even more difficult for female smallholder farmers to acquire land for cultivation, inhibiting their ability to reach their full productive and income-generating potential. Our proposal proffers the development of an automated warehousing receipt system to improve access to customized financing for smallholder farmers in Nigeria’s rice value chain. It demonstrates this through an innovative public-private partnership (PPP) model, the potential of private sector capabilities, and public sector resources to improve smallholder farmers’ access to financing using movable assets such as inventory as collateral to secure loans and get better access to agricultural inputs. To implement our solution, we propose a consortium of government agencies, private sector partners such as agribusinesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs); financial institutions including micro finance institutions; and smallholder farmers and cooperatives. Factors for success of the solution include a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities, risk and benefit sharing, mainstreaming of efficiency enhancing information technology innovations, and measures to ensure equal participation of men and women.