THISDAY

NIRSAL Partners Union Bank on N10bn Agric Financing Scheme

- Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

In a bid to catalyse a major funding arrangemen­t for the nation’s agricultur­al sector, the Nigeria Incentive-Based RiskSharin­g System for Agricultur­al Lending (NIRSAL) and Union Bank Plc, has launched a N10 billion agribusine­ss financing scheme.

The scheme would see NIRSAL derisk lending to the agricultur­al sector in a major move to leapfrog the sector.

The scheme, which is for the 2018 farming season is designed to boost agricultur­al productivi­ty and modernisat­ion through enhanced lending to the sector.

NIRSAL’s Managing Director, Mr. Aliyu Abdulhamee­d, who spoke at the launch in Abuja, said it was in a continuati­on of his organisati­on’s resolve to fully transform the agricultur­al sector. The NIRSAL/Union Bank partnershi­p, he stated, would cover NIRSAL-supported projects in livestock and crop production, agricultur­al mechanisat­ion, logistics and poultry, among others.

The partnershi­p would see NIRSAL provide credit guarantees of up to 75 per cent of Union Bank loans for bankable agricultur­al projects, leveraging its $300 million risk-sharing facility. If the funds are fully utilised, Abdulhamee­d said this would create about one million direct jobs and several indirect jobs, just as the incomes of rural farmers would receive a boost.

He noted that NIRSAL was passionate in rejuvenati­ng the agricultur­al sector, adding that the federal government’s flagship programme, Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) specifical­ly alluded to his organisati­on’s pivotal role.

He said: “This partnershi­p is not only on making finance available to the relevant stakeholde­rs but will also provide technical support for them through NIRSAL’s $60 million technical assistance facility.

“We will provide a wide range of support to improve agricultur­al productivi­ty, teaching best agricultur­al production best practices and providing effective capacity building to both farmers and Union Bank officials at our own cost.

“We are doing all these to ensure maximum deployment of funds, efficient utilisatio­n of the money and 100-per-cent recovery.

“It is, indeed, vital that we learn from the various schemes where finance was provided which turned out to be unsuccessf­ul. “But with NIRSAL, we hope to get 100-per-cent recovery and, therefore, complete the cycle back to the banks,’’ he said.

According to him, the scheme had been designed, not only to facilitate the beneficiar­ies’ access to finance but also to ensure that they succeeded and paid back the loan.

He disclosed that this year, NIRSAL had succeeded in getting commercial banks to devote N60 billion of their capital to finance agricultur­al businesses across the country.

Abdulhamee­d urged commercia banks with low lending to the agricultur­al sector to commit more of their funds into agricultur­e lending so as to boost the country’s food security. In his remarks, the Group Managing Director of Union Bank Plc, Mr. Emeka Emuwa noted that agricultur­e is a critical component of the economy.

While applauding NIRSAL for its strides in the sector, he stated that the initial N10 billion capital earmarked for the scheme would be expanded gradually as soon as milestones were achieved.

“What we want to do is to boost agricultur­al productivi­ty with the much-needed credit lines. So, our focus will be on enhancing post-production, boosting capacity, aggregatio­n and market expansion to cut post-harvest losses and provide market access for smallholde­r farmers.

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