The
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says it is
implementing a seven-year Rural Agriculture Finance Support Programme
aimed at reducing poverty in at least 345,000 rural poor households in
Nigeria.
The
programme focuses mainly on women and youth empowerment through job
creation, cooperative lending and other sources that will make them
financially stable and secure Nigeria’s future.
IFAD’s Country Programme Manager, Atsuko Toda, who disclosed this at a meeting with the management of Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Micro Finance Bank operators in Kaduna, North West Nigeria, said the programme aims to tackle unemployment and poverty in Nigeria as well as encourage economic growth and development.
She disclosed that IFAD had committed the sum of $27 Million into the project and urged BOA to ensure smooth and transparent implementation of the programme, which has to do with poverty eradication in rural communities.
The Managing Director of BOA, Prof. Danbala Danju, says accessing the loan will be collateral free and attracts only 2.5 percent interest rate. He explained that IFAD’s effort has stepped up advocacy to ensure that agriculture becomes central to the development of the Nigerian economy, adding that BOA has also deployed both funds and manpower to ensure full implementation of the programme.
Prof Danju, who was represented by the Executive Director Finance and Wholesale, Babatunde Igun, also gave reasons on why the programme targets mainly on women.
So far, the programme has commenced in 12 states namely; Adamawa, Benue, Abia, Anambra, Edo, Katsina, Zamfara, Lagos, Imo, Nasarawa, Akwa-Ibom, Bauchi and Oyo.
