FG to establish N750bn agriculture fund

NaijaAgroNet:

The Federal Government disclosed plans to establish a N750 billion agriculture fund in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr. Heineken Lokpobiri, affirmed this at the 2016 national summit of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), with the theme: “The Role of Poultry Industry in the Economic Revival of Nigeria” stated that the Federal Government is committed to diversifying the economy away from oil and revive the agricultural sector to boost the economy.

According to him, access to credit is one of the biggest challenges farmers are facing which is why the government has made this move to revive the agricultural sector. In addition the federal government is also talking with Islamic Bank which has agreed to provide about $ 2.5 million which will be rooted through Bank of Agriculture and Commerce Bank and at a single digit rate to finance different agric programmes.

He also disclosed that talks are being held with the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) for funding in the same sector.

“The present administration is committed to make agriculture attractive by making funds accessible and affordable as no business can survive with high interest rate charged by commercial banks. Already, there exist some funding from CBN that even the poultry farmers can access at an affordable interest rate of nine per cent but the contention is that nine percent is too high. We are trying to make credit not only accessible but available and affordable,” Lokpobiriemphasised.

In addition, he also promised to use all means at his disposal to harmonize taxes on farms – “and that since poultry products are food items, they should not be taxed.”

Okoli Vincent/GEE

 

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FCTA boosts farmers with N500m agric loans

The Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Mrs Olajumoke Akinjide said that the administration  has disbursed over N500 million to farmers under the agriculture loan scheme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as part of measures to boost agriculture development and food supply in the territory.

Akinjide made this known to NaijaAgroNet during a visit by the management team of Bank of Agriculture (BOA) led by the Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer, Mohammed Santuraki, to her office in Abuja and stressed that Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has entered into a public private partnership (PPP) agreement with an Israeli Firm, SEC Equipment, to build an Agriculture Services and Training Centre in Abuja.

She informed the BOA boss, that in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda, the FCTA is committed to the development of viable agricultural entrepreneurship through provision of free technical expertise and farm subsidies and to also make the sector attractive to youths and women.

NaijaAgroNet noted that FCTA would partner with the Bank of Agriculture to grow the agriculture sector and ensured that the Agriculture Services and Training Centre, when completed and operational, would become a one-stop agriculture centre in Nigeria.

Santuraki, explained that the visit by the management team was to strengthen the partnership between the bank and the FCT Administration in the areas of agricultural financing for the benefit of farmers and agribusiness entrepreneurs in the capital territory.

“We have noted the giant strides that the Administration is taking to build a virile economy in FCT using agriculture as the foundation. Your effort is most appropriate at this time in the history of Nigeria when agriculture is occupying an important place in the Federal Government’s Transformation Agenda,” Santuraki said.

He explained that BOA had granted agriculture loans of over N50 billion to support the agribusiness in the last 10 years, created 6,000 enterprises, six million direct and indirect jobs and added that the bank  is in a better position to manage funds earmarked by FCTA for agricultural development and poverty alleviation in the FCT.

Anthony Nwakaegho/GEE/NaijaAgroNet

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