Anambra agric commissioner enjoins bank executives to educate farmers on modalities for loan assessment

Commissioner Onukwuba made the call during a meeting with the executives and Chairman of Commodity Association at the ADP Conference Hall.

He enjoined them to consider the provision of loan facilities to farmers in the State in order to eradicate hunger and improve their source of income.

Mr. Onukwuba encouraged the farmers to always approach the Ministry for advice before seeking loans from the Central Bank or Commercial banks, noting. “it pays better to stick to one bank for easy repayment of the loans.”

In his comment, the CBN fund Development Appraisal Officer, Mr. Babatope Oyelade explained that the bank was ready to disburse funds for ‘Anchor Borrower Programme.

The programme was designed to help small holder farmers to develop their farms and increase their production capacity.

In his presentation, the Team Leader of NIRSAL Micro Finance Bank, Mr. Jude Onuoha explained that NIRSAL had set aside N500 million loan facility for farmer in the State specifically for agricultural production stressing that the interest rates had been reduced from 9 per cent to 5 per cent to cushion the effect of COVID 19 pandemic.

Public Sector Desk Officer, Eco Bank Plc., Mr. Chidi Ansley, who listed the importance of Cooperative Grouping in the system, also said that it was good to form a cooperative, this will help them to trace the farmers in their various Local Government Areas.

The Desk Officer, Small Medium Enterprise (SME) of Fidelity Bank Plc.,  Mr. Ndubuisi Achebe explained that the bank was ready to provide credit facilities to cooperative groups, especially rice farmers and pleaded that only genuine farmers would be allowed to access loans.

Chairman of the Poultry Farmer Association, Chief Ugochukwu Okpalaeke pleaded with the ministry to carry the farmers along.