JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Afreximbank Awards $100,000 Grant to AUN to Support Agriculture Information Project for Rural Farmers
Cairo/Yola, 21st March 2024: – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has awarded a $100,000-grant to the American University of Nigeria (AUN) to support the university’s Agricultural Yawo Uniform Information and Access to Market System (A-YUNIAMS) project which seeks to provide seamless information on farming techniques, financial opportunities, market prices of products and weather information to rural farmers through a mobile solution.
The A-YUNIAMS project, which is being implemented by AUN’s School of Engineering, ASBA Synergy and InnoInspire Ltd, is projected to start in Adamawa State in the Northeastern part of Nigeria before scaling to the other parts of the country later in 2024. It aims to cover 60 per cent of the 40 million farmers with mobile devices in Nigeria by the end of 2024.
In a letter conveying the offer to AUN, Afreximbank’s Director in charge of African Union, African Continental Free Trade Agreement Relations and Trade Policy, Yusuf Daya said that the Bank recognized the “transformative potential of the A-YUNIAMS project and the impact it could have on the lives of rural farmers by providing them with information on modern, more resilient crop varieties, efficient farming techniques, funding opportunities and market prices that will empower them to improve their overall capacity and crop yield and would make for a more sustainable and profitable living.”
Mr. Daya noted that the mobile solution would help bridge the information gap faced by rural farmers on modern and more resilient crop varieties and efficient farming practices, etc., making the profession more sustainable and profitable. It would also build capacity to improve productivity of rural farmers, help support growth and expansion of local industries that could feed into the economic diversification, he added.
The Project Manager, Dr. Abubakar Sadiq Hussaini, a specialist in Electrical-Electronic and Telecommunications Engineering and Dean of the School of Engineering at AUN, described the A-YUNIAMS project as a powerful tool, from farm to market, at the fingertips of farmers. He said that the project would bridge the information gap faced by farmers. “The application will provide farmers with a comprehensive suite of tools, from efficient farming techniques and real-time weather updates to invaluable market insights, empowering them to make informed decisions and to maximize their yields,” he added. Dr. Hussaini extended special thanks to Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, and to his team for the financial support and pledged the project’s dedication to improving the wellbeing of rural farmers.
Dr. DeWayne Frazier, President of AUN also commended Afreximbank's contribution, saying that it would make a meaningful difference. “This gift from Afreximbank is not only timely but also very generous. President Benedict Okey Oramah was most gracious in his recent visit to AUN as our keynote speaker for the commencement and assisted us in commissioning the School of Engineering. We are blessed to have a friendship with President Oramah, who is a tremendous academic leader in his own right.”
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About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries to effectively participate in the AfCFTA. At the end of September 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$33.4 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$5.8 billion. The Bank disbursed more than US$104 billion between 2016 and 2023. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure, (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com | Follow us on Twitter |Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram
About AUN
AUN was established in 2004 to provide Nigerians and Africans with an American-style liberal arts education that focuses on developing the life skills students will need to thrive in the future, like critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and teamwork. AUN uses real-world examples and hands-on learning to make lessons relevant and impactful. The AUN School of Engineering aims to cultivate knowledgeable and creative engineers. Students are exposed to core scientific principles, which they can apply to cutting-edge technological development. Through a holistic education combining engineering, liberal arts, and entrepreneurship, students gain flexibility in choosing their future career paths across different industries. It equips students with both strong theoretical foundations as well as opportunities for hands-on experience designing technologies of the future.
To learn more, visit us at www.aun.edu.ng