The Arab Africa Trade Bridges Program (AATB) Extends its Support for OCP Africa's Agribooster Program in C te d'Ivoire

The Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program, a multi-partner Program led by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) (www.ITFC-idb.org), partners with OCP Africa for supporting OCP Africa’s Agribooster Program to reach rice farmers and enhance agriculture value chains within Côte d’Ivoire. The agreement was signed by Dr. Mohamed Anouar Jamali, Chief Executive Officer of OCP Africa, a subsidiary of OCP Group, and Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, Chief Executive Officer, ITFC, in Rabat, Morocco.

The program will benefit 20,000 farmers. It serves as an end-to-end value chain solution that brings together all the conditions necessary for improving rice productivity and small farmers revenues, including the provision of high-quality fertilizers and hybrid seeds, training on good agricultural practices and soil fertility, as well as market linkages. The program will also serve to safeguard the health of the country’s farmers in the wake of COVID-19 through the provision of personal protective equipment to smallholder farms.

The CEO of ITFC, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, highlighted the importance of this partnership, saying, “ITFC’s grant for the OCP Africa Agribooster program in Côte d’Ivoire aims to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19 and help boost global food supply chains whilst enhancing agricultural value chains in the country especially under these difficult circumstances. African countries must work on securing their local agricultural production, to minimize their exposure to imports and advance food security for their populations. This grant will also cover the training of trainers to strengthen their capabilities through innovative training and digitalized technical assistance to ensure the sustainability of the program for future generations of farmers.”

Dr Mohamed Anouar Jamali, CEO of OCP Africa also added, “Covid-19 has exposed the limits of our current production models. The repercussions of the pandemic on food security call for new holistic models to produce enough food in Africa. The Agribooster program is a good example of an initiative designed to support African food systems to become more resilient, and we are glad to have ITFC as a strong partner in Côte d'Ivoire.”

The Agribooster program, which comes under the umbrella of OCP Africa and is dedicated to the sustainable development of agriculture, requires extensive training in good agricultural practices and regular monitoring throughout the year.

At the continent level, the Agribooster program has reached over 630,000 smallholder farmers across four countries (Ghana, Sénégal, Nigéria and Côte d’Ivoire), with an increase in their yield of up to 40% for leading farmers.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).

Contact us: Twitter: @ITFCCORP Facebook: @ITFCCORP LinkedIn: International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) Tel: +966 12 646 8337 Fax: +966 12 637 1064 E-mail: ITFC@itfc-idb.org

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About the International Islamic Trade and Finance Corporation (ITFC): The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) is a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group. It was established with the purpose of advancing trade among OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) member countries, which would contribute to the overarching goal of improving socioeconomic conditions of the people across the world. Commenced operations in January 2008, ITFC has provided more than $55 billion of trade financing to OIC Member Countries, making the Corporation the leading provider of trade solutions for OIC Member Countries’ needs. With a mission of being a catalyst for trade development among OIC Member Countries and beyond, the Corporation helps entities in Member Countries gain better access to trade finance and provides them with the necessary trade-related capacity building tools, which would enable them to successfully compete in the global market.

About the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program: AATB is a multi-donor, multi-country and multi-organizations program, aiming to promote and increase trade and investment flows between African and Arab member countries; provide and support trade finance and export credit insurance; and enhance existing capacity building tools relating to trade. The program specifically focuses on the key sectors of agriculture and related industries including textiles; health industry including pharmaceuticals; infrastructure and transport; and petrochemicals, construction material and technology.

About OCP Africa: Created in 2016, OCP Africa (www.OCPAfrica.com), a subsidiary of OCP Group, aims to contribute to the development of integrated agricultural ecosystems in Africa. OCP Africa works hand in hand with farmers to help grow the agricultural potential of the African continent through solutions adapted to local conditions and to the needs of soils and crops. In partnership with a network of partners, including governments, non-profit organizations, and companies, OCP Africa works continuously to put all the necessary conditions for the benefit of farmers. OCP Africa is present across many African countries through the opening of subsidiaries and/or representative offices (Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Benin, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Rwanda). It is also helping to secure the production of competitive fertilizers near major agricultural pools, to strengthen its logistical capacities and to develop new local distribution networks.