BOI to spend 1bn on agro based project #nigeria

The Bank of Industry (BOI) said it has set aside the sum of
N1 billion for the implementation of the Oyo State agro-
based One Local government One Product (OLOP) pilot
scheme.
The Bank said the scheme would be in partnership with the
state government, Small and Medium Enterprises
Development Agency (SMEDAN) and Japanese International
Corporation Agency (JICA), explaining that while the bank
would be providing the funding for the programme in nine
local government areas of the state, SMEDAN and JICA are
also expected to provide capacity building, technical
support as well as identifying markets (local and abroad)
for finished products.
South West Zonal Coordinator, SMEDAN, Gbenga Ogundeji,
said the OLOP project would identify one product in each
local government where they have comparative and
competitive advantage over others and develop it.
He said the project would benefit the people at the
grassroots as it would create employment, enhance their
capacity to run their business successfully and expose
them to international market by assisting them in the area
of packaging.
"We also want to enhance their capacity through
entrepreneurship training, and JICA will help in the area of
machinery fabrication," he said.
Head, Bureau of Investment Promotion and Public-Private
Partnerships in the office of Oyo State governor, Folakemi
Akinleye, said the local governments chosen for the project
would provide clusters for the agro-products, accessible
land, roads, factory shed, boreholes, and electricity, as well
as security, adding that the programme would be routed
through cooperative societies.