Kwara grants loans to state lawmakers for farming

Kwara State Government has approved N40 million in loan facilities for members of the State House of Assembly to cultivate soya beans and maize. The fund was taken from the N1 billion agriculture loan released to the state government by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently.


Speaking to reporters at the farm-site which is spread over 300 hectares of land in Agogo, Ejidongari district, Moro Local Government Area of the state, Dr Ali Ahmad, Speaker of the state assembly said: “Our visit today is symbolic. Seeing is believing. We have been saying that we have a farm. We chose a day that we are supposed to be sitting to visit this place, so that when the public wonders why we are not sitting, we want to create awareness that we are here today.

“We incorporated a company, called Dodo Integrated Farms Nigeria limited. It has a board of trustees. It is clearly commercial and purely non-governmental. The shareholders are the 24 members of the Kwara state House of Assembly.

“We took advantage of N1billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for farmers through the state government. We accessed N40 million from that loan. Every member of the House is entitled to about N1.5 million.

“It is an opportunity for action.  We need everybody to go into farming. That is what we are showcasing. If every state will do this that we are doing, the complaints of hardship will be less. I recommend this initiative to all state Houses of Assembly in the country.”

Dr Ahmad urged the electorate not vote for council candidates without good agriculture plans in the November 2017 council election in the state.

He also charged local government chairmen and workers in the country to do more in practical agricultural practices to discourage idleness and boost food security.



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

Over 100 exhibitors from 18 countries register for agrofood Nigeria 2017

Image
Fairtrade, the German trade fair specialist organisation, has said more than 100 exhibitors from 18 countries have confirmed their participation at the agrofood Nigeria, making it a record participation. The event which will take place from 28 to 30 March 2017 at the Landmark Centre in Lagos has attracted exhibitors from Austria, Benin, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan, Togo, Turkey and the United Kingdom. agrofood Nigeria consists of the following exhibition topics: Agriculture, Process & Packaging, Food Ingredients, Food & Drinks and Foodservice Equipment. “For the third year, the French agrofood association adepta leads a delegation of French companies to agrofood Nigeria”, said Aude Roelly, Area Sales Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, adepta. “From farm to fork, companies specialized into equipment and know-how for agriculture, livestock, food processing and packaging offer their
Read more