Wada partners BoA to boost agribusiness in Kogi, offers N750m credit for farmers

In what looks like a last minute effort, Idris Wada, governor of Kogi, has partnered the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) on the provision of N750 million credit facilities to smallholder farmers across 21 local government areas of the state as part of efforts to boost agricultural and agribusiness.

According to the governor, the credit facilities that would be disbursed to farmers under FADAMA III programme, which involves World Bank, Federal Government of Nigeria and the Kogi state government, would be given to smallholder farmers at a single-digit interest rate and was designed to ensure food security and eradicate poverty.

Speaking in Lokoja during a visit of experts from the World Bank and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) on the Assessment of FADAMA III additional financing project implementation, the governor said that FADAMA III would surely have positive impacts on agricultural practice and agribusiness in the state.

The governor, who was represented by Yomi Awoniyi, deputy governor at the event, added, ‘I urge you to use the opportunity of the mission to address the issue of inadequate brown field to form contiguous clusters in the project area”, saying that the provision of one hectre of brown field for per cassava farmer in the state might be difficult to achieve without assistance on land clearing. He emphasized that Kogi state government in collaboration with BoA as well as Fadama project farmers, had equally provided subsidized inputs and credit support to the tune of 750 million for 7,500 small-scale farmers.

Wada maintained that the state government had kept its commitment to donor agencies through prompt payment of counterpart funds for all externally supported agricultural programmes in the state, adding that the State government had committed the sum of 56,355,000 as counterpart fund up to year 2014 for the effective take-off of FADAMA III Additional Financing Project.

He also noted that Kogi state revenue has for sometimes, been dwindling leaving the present administration with the option of relying on short-bridges from the banks to be able to meet its commitment to pay workers’ wages, saying with the progress the state had made in agriculture development generally.

“I have no doubt in my mind that the succeeding administration in the state will sustain the legacy of creating an enabling environment for the people of the state to have easy access to essential farm inputs and equipment while continuing with the government’s integrated rural development efforts to better the lives of our farmers and rural dwellers,” he said.

He commended the donor agencies – the World Bank, African Development Bank and others for their numerous supports to Kogi state on agriculture and other related issues.

Victoria Nnakaike