Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has been honored with the Commander of the Order of Mono − the highest civil honor of Togo.
The Commander of the Order of Mono national honour, bestowed on personalities who have shown exceptional merit, was awarded by the Head of State of Togo, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, on the sidelines of a visit to Togo for the launch of the Mécanisme Indicatif de Financement Agricole (MIFA), a program aimed at improving farmers’ access to finance.
MIFA is based on Nigeria’s successful experiences with NIRSAL, where it helped de-risk lending by commercial banks to agriculture.
Addressing participants at the ceremony, Dr. Adesina said:
“Transforming agriculture is the key to reviving rural economies and turning them into new zones of economic prosperity. The MIFA initiative you are launching today is another building block in Togo’s agricultural transformation strategy jointly developed by the African Development Bank and the Government of Togo, with the support of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing system for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).
When fully implemented, it is expected to rapidly increase bank lending to the agricultural sector, reduce interest rates, and reach 1 million farmers with access to credit in the next 3-5 years.”
In attendance at the event were President Gnassingbé and members of his cabinet, including Prime Minister Komi Selom Klassou, members of the diplomatic corps, the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, NIRSAL CEO, Aliyu Hameed, as well as representatives from the private sector.
The African Development Bank has helped Togo implement AgriPME, a system that allows farmers to access fertilizer using their mobile phones.
In 2016/2017, more than 77,500 farmers, 38% of them women, received their fertilizers through the system. AgriPME has allowed the government to better target farmers and deliver subsidized farm inputs. AgriPME has also improved transparency, accountability and increased public spending efficiency. A total of 40,000 MT of fertilizer were provided to farmers, compared to 30,000 MT on average over the period 2009-2015, an increase of 45%. The system has also led to CFAF 3.5 billion in savings for the Government of Togo.
