FARMERS BENEFITS FROM #500M LOAN

The Federal Capital Territory
Administration (FCTA) says it 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.
The FCTA said it has also entered
into a public private partnership
agreement with an Israeli Firm,
SEC Equipment, to build an
Agriculture Services and Training
Centre in Abuja.
Minister of State for FCT,
Olajumoke Akinjide, told the
Managing Director/Chief
Executive Officer, Bank of
Agriculture, Mohammed
Santuraki, that the FCT
Administration had keyed into
President Goodluck Jonathan's
Agricultural Transformation
Agenda aimed at revamping the
agriculture business and
ensuring food security in the
country.
"Agriculture is one of the
cornerstones of the President's
Transformation Agenda. The
Growth Enhancement Support
Scheme (GES) is one of the key
initiatives under the Agricultural
Transformation Agenda (ATA)
aimed at diversifying the
economy and enhancing foreign
exchange earnings," she said.
"The ultimate goal of the scheme
is to ensure that agriculture is
practiced as lucrative commercial
enterprise that is not only
sustainable but also attractive to
our youths and women. The FCTA
is committed to the development
of viable agricultural
entrepreneurship through
provision of free technical
expertise and farm subsidies,"
the minister added.
Mrs Akinjide, who noted that the
FCTA would partner with the
Bank of Agriculture to grow the
agriculture sector in the FCT, said
the Agriculture Services and
Training Centre, when completed
and operational, would become a
one-stop agriculture centre in
Nigeria.
The Centre, she said, would be a
dedicated facility to support
farmers, adding that it would
consist of a training centre,
extension services department,
irrigation and laboratory for soil
test, among other agriculture
and allied facilities, while about
170,000 farming families had
registered in the FCT.
The BOA Managing Director,
Mohammed Santuraki, explained
that the visit by the management
team was to strengthen the
collaboration between the bank
and the FCT Administration in the
areas of agricultural financing for
the benefit of farmers and
agribusiness entrepreneurs in
the FCT.
"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," Mr. Santuraki said.
He confirmed that the BOA had
granted agriculture loans of over
N50 billion to support the
agribusiness in the last 10 years,
adding that the Bank had created
6,000 enterprises and six million
direct and indirect jobs during
the period.
"In the last couple of years, we
have repositioned the Bank to
make it even more impactful and
financially sustainable. As part of
our reform agenda, we have
chosen to create alliances with
State Governments and other
domain stakeholders.
"The BOA is in a better position
to manage funds earmarked by
FCT Administration for
agricultural development and
poverty alleviation in the FCT," Mr
Santuraki stated