Banks expand loan to farmers

The resolve of the emerging generation of leaders to diversity the Nigerian economy was further demonstrated last weekend as the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Chief Executives of commercial banks agreed to expand the loan tenor to farmers from 6-12months. The initiative was part of strategies to further increase food production in 2014, reduce inflation and to enable banks reconcile the transactional ends of the seeds-fertilizer supply chains and the attendant loan to transition during dry to wet season farming. This was one of the key decisions reached at a breakfast meeting organized by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Abuja to convey the Federal Government’s appreciation for the contributions of banks toward the evolving agriculture revolution in the country. The meeting had resolved some challenges mostly bureaucratic, in the loan repayment processes. Dr. Adesina had at the meeting hinted that the total amount lent to farmers this year 2013 was N20billion as against N3.5billion in the preceding year, adding that this expression of confidence in the farmers came as a result of creation of institutional structures in form of value chains which have done so much to create and sustain confidence to fix the value chains assuring that government will continue to reduce the risk of lending by banks to agric sector” The Minister listed the banks that have supported the agric sector to include Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Enterprise Bank, FCMB, Jaiz Bank, First Bank and Mainstreet Bank. Others are Sterling Bank, UBA, Unity Bank, Wema Bank, Zenith Bank, Union Bank and Bank of Agriculture. Dr. Adesina said that the registration of farmers which started in year 2012 has by year 2013 reached 4.2million farmers directly with electronic wallet scheme, adding that, this meant that about 20million people have been impacted by the GES programme of the Federal Government. He attributed the decline in inflation to the slow rate in the increase of food prices and the CBN’s monetary policy. “Inflation is coming down in Nigeria for the first time since 2008 and that is a remarkable thing. This is happening because the CBN is doing a fantastic job in terms of monetary policy and the fact that agriculture is actually expanding in this country, when the inflation figures were released by the DG, National Bureau of Statistics, the decline in inflation largely is also attributable to the slow rate in the increase of food prices, the recent harvest continue to contain food prices. “That is to say farm harvest is also doing wonders. So basically you get CBN and agriculture working, and that is why you are finding that inflation is going down as fast as it is which is the fastest rate since 2008,” he said