Akinwunmi-Adesina

From OKEY SAMPSON, Aba

The Export-Import (EX-IM) Bank has extended about N650 million agricultural loan facility to a farmers’ group, Agbekoya Farmers Association (AFA) for disbursement to its members and establishment of farm settlements in some states of the country.

President General of AFA, Chief Kamorudeen Aremu Okikiola, who disclosed this in Aba, Abia State over the weekend during the inauguration of the state’s executive officers of the association said the aim of the loan was to make the country to be sufficient in food production.

Okikiola who was represented by the National Publicity Secretary of the association, Chief Olatunji Bandele, said it has already mapped out strategies for disbursing the loans and establishing of the farm settlements.

“As part of our efforts in solving the food shortage problem in the country, AFA would, through the loan from the Export and Import Bank, establish a model farm on a 9,301 hectares of land in Ogun State where it would cultivate maize, sorghum and cassava in commercial quantity.”

He said to further strengthen its financial base and establish more farm settlements across the country, AFA had submitted business proposals to the Japanese and Netherlands governments and responses from the two governments were being expected.

“We have already submitted business proposals to the Japanese and Netherlands governments for assistance on the establishment of farm settlements and building of cassava processing plants in Oyo and Ekiti states.”

The AFA president regretted the neglect of the agriculture sector and the Nigerian farmers, which, he said, was an embarrassment to the nation and appealed to the Federal Government to always vote at least 20 per cent of the national budget to agriculture annually.

According to him, “it is an embarrassment that Nigeria, a vast agricultural country endowed with substantial natural resources covering about 12.6m hectares of land, 960 kilometres of coastline and an ecological diversity which enables the country to produce a wide variety of crops and livestock, forestry and fishery products, should find her self in the group of low income, food deficit nations in Africa.”

The association equally appealed to the Abia State government to donate at least 5,000 hectares of land in the state to it for the establishment of farm settlements.

While congratulating the new executives, Bandele urged the inaugurated officials to always abide by the constitution of the association.

Kanu Celestine, the association’s Livestock co-ordinator for Abia State, expressed delight at the inauguration of the executives and promised that the association would work hard to ensure food sufficiency in the country in no distant period.



Source: Sun