Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has held a high-level meeting with chief executive officers (CEOs) of major commercial banks in Lagos to explore the possibility of single-digit funding for agriculture.
Lokpobiri said the present double digit interest rate is prohibitive and cannot sustainably fund agricultural ventures.
It was learnt that the meeting which held last weekend was facilitated by Pascal Dozie, founder of Diamond Bank and Chairman of MTN Nigeria.
The minister, who disclosed this during his working visit to Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery Limited in Awe, Oyo State, described funding as the greatest impediment to the growth of agriculture in Nigeria.
He said the agricultural funding over the years has often come through government, adding that the Federal Government is working to attract private sector funding to stimulate the growth of the sector.
He said the meeting with the bank CEOs was aimed at exerting their commitment to make single-digit funding available to farmers and agro-allied companies.
Lokpobiri who toured Amo Farms and its subsidiaries, including Amo Byng Nigeria Limited, Diversay Solutions, natnudOs Foods and DSL Pharma, assured of government’s readiness to support the farm overcome most of its production challenges.
Group Managing Director of Amo Farms, Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, appealed to government to help the poultry industry by stabilising prices of raw materials like maize and soya beans.
By Abdullateef Aliyu,
Daily Trust News
