BoA opens N1bn credit window for Jigawa farmers

Bank of Agriculture (BoA) says it has opened a N1 billion credit window for smallholder farmers in Jigawa State.

The loan facility is an outcome of a financing partnership agreement entered into by the bank and the current administration in the state, aimed at addressing the existing wide-gap between access and finance among smallholder farmers in the state.

Waziri Ahmadu, a director of the bank, made this disclosure to BusinessDay, while speaking on the sidelines of an agriculture roundtable summit held in the state.

He revealed that the loan package was part of a deliberate intervention policy put in place by the bank to complement the Federal Government’s on-going efforts to develop agricultural sector of the economy.

“BoA is pleased to disclose that it has reached a funding agreement with the Jigawa State government which will lead to the extension of a N1 billion credit facility to smallholder farmers in the state.

“The funding agreement which is programmed to come on stream immediately, is the biggest single financing window ever entered into by the two parties, in the history of the state”, he stated.

Giving details of the nature of the agreement that led to institutionalisation of the loan, Ahmadu explained that the loan is packaged under a nation-wide loan delivery programme geared at supporting the operations of the Nigerian farming community.

According to him, one of the conditions which state governments interested in the loan is required to meet is that they must be willing to guarantee the benefiting farmers.

“This segment of our loan package is open to all the farmers in all states of the federation, and so far many state governments are participating in the scheme.