Osinbajo inaugurates N10bn farmer-to-finance fund

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has inaugurated a N10 billion farmer-to-finance fund set up by the Association of Non-Bank Micro-Finance Institutions of Nigeria (ANMFIN).

Inaugurating the fund in Abuja recently, Osinbajo said it would assist agribusinesses to access funds and reduce poverty rate among unbanked rural farmers.

The vice president who was represented by the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr. Olukayode Pitan, said about 1.2m people in the world were in extreme poverty, while 67 per cent of Nigerians were poor and depended on agriculture for both employment and livelihood.

He said agriculture which contributed 25 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and was among the six sectors prioritised in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) to revamp the nation’s sick economy deserved increased funding.

He lauded the fund set up by ANMFIN, adding that private sector involvement in funding agriculture in Nigeria was crucial.

The President of ANMFIN, Princess Adeshola Ogunleye, said the main aim of setting up the fund to be disbursed to rural farmers at 10 per cent interest rate was to reduce the hardship they faced trying to access funds from commercial banks.

Ogunleye said the fund was founded on the concept of financial engineering and impact investing in which about 500 to 1000 ANMFIN members would be required to pay in 10 to 15 per cent of their expected loan of N5m to N10m to the fund leveraged with a bank.

The Chairman, Board of Trustees of ANMFIN, Barrister Dan Ugbama, lamented the absence of low cost funds for farmers, a problem he said which necessitated the ANMFIN fund for farmers.

He said most financial institutions did not lend to farmers due to high risks involved and that commercial banks did not also help.

Source: DAILY TRUST