PRESS RELEASE
DAKAR, Senegal, December 13, 2021/ — The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) will be releasing a series of four short documentaries that showcase the depth of ITFC’s interventions in the Groundnut sector in Senegal.
Called The ITFC Groundnut Project: Full Cycle, the documentary will air on Africanews from 16th to 31st December 2021 and on Afrique Media TV from the 16th to the 24th December 2021 and be featured as well on ITFC social media platforms.
ITFC has over the years established and consolidated a strategic partnership with “Société Nationale de Commercialisation des Oléagineux” (SONACOS), the groundnut oil processing company in Senegal; with support ranging from financing the purchase of groundnuts from local farming communities, processing groundnut oil for export, and acquiring laboratory analysis equipment for SONACOS.
ITFC’s intervention has been crucial in making funding available on a timely basis ensuring no supply chain disruptions. With groundnut being the main source of income for most farmers in Senegal and the country’s main agricultural export, the ITFC partnership with SONACOS has a direct impact on not only the farming and rural communities but on the overall national economy as well.
ITFC is providing US$47.2 million of funding for the sector for this crop season which is set to increase in the years ahead. This figure brings the total funding allocated to this sector in Senegal to US$380.2 million since ITFC’s inception in 2008.
Commenting on the launch of the series, ITFC CEO, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol said: “One of our strategic focuses at ITFC is the agricultural sector and working together with member countries on powering the sector is at the heart of our post-covid recovery interventions. We are very much aware that one of the sectors that was hard-hit by the pandemic is the agricultural sector and most importantly the small-holder farmers and rural communities.
“This documentary goes on to confirm that the path to socio-economic recovery passes through structured and strategic interventions to support sustainable agricultural production and ITFC remains firmly committed to this objective especially in the Sub Saharan Africa region.”
