FG to restructure Bank of Agric to ease farmers’ access to loan – Ogbeh

The Federal Government says it will restructure Bank Of Agriculture (BOA) so as to facilitate farmers’ access to loans, encourage youths’ participation in farming and boost food production in the country.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said this when he featured at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

According to Ogbeh, the bank’s restructuring will bring down the interest rate on loans for farmers and young people who want to go into agro-businesses.

“Once we restructure the Bank of Agric, the interest rate will not exceed seven per cent, I am pushing for five. The average rate worldwide is three per cent; it is only in Nigeria we are doing 18 to 25 per cent.

“And bankers keep telling you unacceptable stories of how interest rate can’t be lowered. So, if you have those factors put in place and you give young people initial startup (capital), there is no reason why they fail.

“The beauty now is that there is more money in agric than ever; so what young people are asking for is first, the way we are operating now, as no bank will lend money to a young person.

“You want to borrow money, your father or uncle must have a house in Maitama or Ikoyi or Enugu GRA or V.I. (Victoria Island), and then you bring the interest rate to 25 per cent or you must insure your life and insure your house.

“Those things don’t allow young people with ideas to go into it; none of us can claim we all came from an affluent background.“So, how can you ask the young people to bring all these because they want a loan for agric? And the risk is high.

“They go into poultry, there are diseases or they try sowing grains but because they didn’t do the soil test and not given the right seed, the yield is so poor, they can’t pay and they can’t retrieve their deposit.

“So, all that is changing, what young people need now is support, mechanisation, access to land and cheaper credit, and we are working on all that now.

Besides, Ogbeh said that the Federal Government had introduced a scheme called “Invent your Future’’, which will create an opportunity for all categories of public or civil servants and private individuals to embrace farming.

“There’s a scheme we are advertising soon called `Invent your Future’, are you in the civil service, in the military; a young person or a journalist; if you have a piece of land, then, plant some trees and we will show you how to do it,’’ he said.

The minister said that the Federal Government would soon establish massive coconut plantations in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers and Lagos states for the extraction of coconut oil for industrial purposes.


NAN

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Agric forum to encourage greater technology use by women

Image
Organizers of a one-day agricultural forum for women in Benin, the Edo State capital, have said the event will focus on increasing the awareness of available agricultural and outreach technologies for women in agriculture. The forum which will be anchored by Market Development Programme in the Niger Delta (MADE) with funding from UK Aid, is collaborating with Markets II, funded by USAID and Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta, PIND and the Edo State Cooperative Farmers’ Agency is being held for womenas part of activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day. Mr. Fidelis Ekom, MADE’s Communications and Advocacy Manager, in a statement at the weekend said the forum also seeks to facilitate mindset change for women in the adoption of modern technologies and to facilitate engagement between women in agriculture and relevant value chain actors. Ekom said the forum will bring together women farmers in aquaculture, cassava, palm oil, poultry, hon
Read more

7 FEPSAN members to produce 1m tonnes under Presidential Fertiliser Initiative

Image
Seven active blending companies within the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) have been revived and are among the 1st of five batches that would produce 1 million tonnes of fertiliser under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, Thomas Etuh, President of FEPSAN has said. Etuh who disclosed this while speaking on Presidential Fertiliser Initiative noted that most of the plants owned by FEPSAN members are being revived after being dormant for over a decade. He expressed the hope that more plants would join the initiative before the end of April “Some of the blending plants which have already been supplied with raw materials including phosphate from Morocco and are blending include Fertiliser and Chemicals Ltd, Kaduna, producing 300,000 metric tonnes; Al-Yuma Fertilizer Company (300,000 metric tonnes) in Madobi-Kano; Kano Agricultural Supply Company, supplying 15 trailers daily and Golden Fertiliser based in Lagos. “Others blending plants ha
Read more

Saudi investors identify Kwara as host for proposed Agric City

Image
In a move that will further boost food security in Nigeria and contribute to the diversification agenda of the government, Zain Al-abdin Group, an investment company based in Saudi Arabia, has announced plans to set up a multi-purpose Agric City in Kwara State. Speaking to newsmen at the end of his visit to the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed in Ilorin, Zain Al-Abdin Nafawi, Chairman of Zain Al-abdin Group said the city or settlement will comprise a cluster of farms specialising in cultivation, processing and export of rice, maize and vegetables. Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, Governor, Kwara State   Governor Ahmed in his welcome speech to the Saudi delegation noted that the multimillion dollar investment is in line with the state government’s plan to broaden the state’s economy, feed the people and provide feed stock for industries. He expressed delight at the decision of the Saudi group to invest in Kwara State. Nafawi who led the delegation including other
Read more