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Tag: BoA

  • NDE, BoA sign loans’pact

    NDE, BoA sign loans’pact

    The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) to assist NDE trainees with loans.

    The Coordinator of NDE in Kano State, Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar, made this known at the opening of a training for 50 women in modern bag-making and footwear production in Kano.

    He said under the deal, the directorate would identify viable business proposals from the beneficiaries for  funding. He urged them to open accounts with the bank to get loans.

    The coordinator advised the women trainees to form cooperative societies to enable them to tap from the advantages of networking.

    Abubakar said the decision to train the women was to provide them with skills to enable them set up their own businesses.

    He said after the training, the trainees would be given a start-up capital to enable them to start their own businesses.

    “Unemployment among women can have highly devastating effects owing to their vulnerability. In addition, the Universal Declaration on Equal Opportunities and Gender Sensitivity has become household principle. We have been championing the cause of women by ensuring their full participation in economic activities for self-reliance,” he said.

    The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Binta Jibril, praised the directorate for tackling unemployment among women and youths.

    Jibril, represented by the Director Women Affairs, Hajiya Hajara Shehu, said the government was ready to partner with the directorate to reduce unemployment in the state.

    The training, which commenced last week, will last 21 days.

  • LCCI faults govt’s plan to privatise BoI, BoA

    LCCI faults govt’s plan to privatise BoI, BoA

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has opposed moves bythe Federal Government to privatise the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Bank of Agriculture (BoA), saying both organisations will be unable to achieve their goals if the plan is carried out.

    LCCI argued that the two banks are Development Finance Institutions (DFI) and  that their objectives are usually in conflict with the goals of private enterprises, which revolve around profit making, it stated in a communiqué issued after its council meeting in Lagos.

    “The development objectives of the  DFIs will be compromised in the event of their privatisation, because development objectives are often at variance with profitability objectives.

    “The primary objective of a typical private enterprise is profit maximisation, while the worry of the government should be development. This is the fundamental basis for government’s intervention in an economy,” LCCI said in the communique.

    The Chamber said the global practice is for DFIs to be government-owned because of the peculiarities of their mandates, adding that the basic objective of any development finance is to support the growth and development of the real sector and provide infrastructure for the economy and subsidised long-term affordable finance to investors.

    It aegued that a privatised entity will not be able to deliver this mandate because of the economics of the enterprise.

    “Therefore, real sector financing will suffer in the event that the DFIs are privatised. Such an outcome will have consequences for the capacity of the real sector to grow and create the much- needed jobs,” it said.

    LCCI said rather than consider privatisating the entities, government should  recapitalise the two institutions and ensure that they are properly managed.

    “Currently, cost of funds in the Nigeria financial markets is between 18 per cent and 30 per cent; and over 70 per cent of the funds are short-tenured funds. It is difficult to comprehend how a private entity will lend to the real sector at single-digit interest rate (and with long tenure) in this scenario,” it said.

    It urged the government to work on recapitalising the DFIs and create a framework that will allow for an independent and professional management of the DFIs, saying, “this is the way to go.”

    LCCI said it is important to develop models and structures that will make public institutions work, rather than duplicate, or discard them.

    It warned that populating the boards of vital public institutions with politicians is not in the best interest of the economy and the country.

  • 15,000 farmers get N375m BoA loan

    15,000 farmers get N375m BoA loan

    No  fewer than 15,000 cassava  farmers have benefited from t  the N375 million loan by the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) to boost cassava production in Adamawa State.

    Chairman, Borno Cassava Farmers Cooperative Union (BCFCU), Alhaji Lawal Umara,  made this known in Maiduguri.

    He said the farmers who received N250,000 each were drawn from the 27 local government areas.

    He said the initiative was part of the government’s effort to enhance cassava production for local consumption and export.

    He said the initiative would go  help ensure food security in the state and the country.

    Umara said cassava farmers in the state also received about 10,000 bundles of cassava seedlings under the Federal Government’s Agricultural Enhancement Programme to enable them improve on their yields.

    He said the association also secured 100 hectares of farm in each of the 27 local government areas for cassava farmers.

    “Some of our members were also empowered to produce different varieties of cassava.

    “Plans are also underway to train 2,700 women farmers who lost their farmlands due to the activities of insurgents in some local government areas.

    “The women would be trained on how to make biscuits, bread, cakes, doughnuts, pies, rolls and chin-chin, among items,’’ he said.

  • FG, BOA sign pact on N2.4b cassava bread fund

    FG, BOA sign pact on N2.4b cassava bread fund

    The Federal Government has said that the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and Bank of Industry (BOI) are to manage disbursement of the N9.9b cassava bread fund released by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, disclosed this at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the BOA yesterday in Abuja.

    The BOA is to manage N2.4billion of the fund in collaboration with 13 key private stakeholders, while N4.3billion will be disbursed by the BOI to support Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) that are actively involved in cassava processing.

    Adesina said that out of the N2.4billion, about N912m will be spent on farm mechanisation support for cassava farmers, while N780 million will be used to support the farmers on planting materials, with N796million to be used in providing agro-inputs such as seeds, fertiliser, among others.

    The minister emphasised that each division of the N2.4billion will be disbursed like the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES) such that 50percent of the fund will be given to farmers as loan, while the remaining 50percent would serve as grant from the federal government.

    According to him, the Managing Director of BOA, Dr. Mohammed Santuraki, was leveraging money for the states through the bank’s agreements with state governors.

    Adesina said, “It will be 50percent grant and 50percent loan. And you will agree with me that this is a huge step forward in terms of supporting our farmers to produce more cassava. Let me also say that we are delighted with the Bank of Agriculture. Every time I see the MD, he is always signing new agreements with states executives.”

    Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, said the agreement would consolidate existing relationship between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the BOA.

    She noted that the inclusion of cassava flour into bread making was aimed at partially substituting huge wheat import with High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF).

  • Controversy trails Fed Govt’s N15b grant to BoA

    Controversy trails Fed Govt’s N15b grant to BoA

    There is controvesy over the status of the N15billion the Federal Government advanced to the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) for on-lending to farmers, The Nation has learnt.

    Vice President Namadi Sambo had said the Federal Government has extended a N15 billion grant to the BoA to lend at a single-digit to farmers for this year’s farming season.

    But a source said no such grant has been released by the government, saying what the Vice President referred to was the recapitalisation fund injected into BoA.

    The source, who asked that his identity be veiled, said as civil servants, they are not in a position to contradict the Vice President on such a sensitive issue.

    He denied the existence of the grant, insisting that what Sambo was referring to was the recapitalisation fund, “but we cannot say the Vice President is wrong, but what he said is not as presented.”

    At the closing of the 19th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) in Abuja, Sambo had said the government was aware of the problems farmers faced, such as access to financing and the high interest rate charged by banks, adding that to solve them, the Federal Government had to take steps to remove the bottlenecks in the agricultural sector to allow for growth and development.

    He described these policy initiatives as short-term measures, saying the government was putting in place mechanisms to facilitate long-term access to credit to farmers.

    In February, this year, the Federal Government okayed N15 billion to recapitalise the BoA. Earlier, the BoA had received N30billion of the N50billion approved share capital in about 13 installments, since the merger of its legacy institutions in 2000.

    Also last week, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, boasted that the Federal Government had paid civil servants their September salary.

    However, days after, investigations revealed that civil servants have not been paid. Many civil servants said they  were  paid their August salary in the first week of September.

    In addition, the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting for August allocation, from where September salaries would be paid, did not hold on Thursday as planned, but is now scheduled for today.

  • Budget: ‘Abuja Exchange got less than N1.5b in 12 years’

    Budget: ‘Abuja Exchange got less than N1.5b in 12 years’

    •BoA to support agric with N25b

    The Abuja Stock and Commodities Exchange (ASCE) has received less than N1.5 billion as budgetary allocation in its 12 years of existence, its Managing Director, Alhaji Yusuf Abdurrahim, has said.

    Abdurrahim, who stated this when executives of the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) visited the commodity exchange yesterday, said inadequate financing was responsible for the low performance of the exchange.

    He lamented that the ASCE has failed to take off because of inadequate infrastructure.

    “Inadequate funding is also a problem for the exchange. Government has not spent up to N1.5 billion on ASCE as budgetary allocation since inception,” he said.

    The exchange, he revealed, “is now going to be operated under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement; we are not looking for sleeping partners, but those who will put in money and handle management up to a certain level.”

    He explained that some interests have been expressed within and outside the country on the PPP arrangement, adding that what is left is for the government, which is working towards recapitalising the exchange to fast-track the process.

    On the plan to take over the exchange by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Abdurrahim said: “The CBN owns 60 per cent and is desirous of seeing that the exchange becomes operational and runs profitably. The CBN was one of the stakeholders that moved for the PPP arrangement for the exchange.”

    The Managing Director of BoA, Mohammed Santuraki, said the bank plans to use about N25 billion to support agriculture in the next two years.

    He said the bank will support commercial, small scale farmers  because they don’t have post-harvest infrastructure to help maximise the gains of their harvest, and cannot access finance through conventional means.

    As part of the bank’s support for agriculture, Santuraki said the bank has identified challenges facing the farmers and will work with the ASCE to support an agriculture financing bill when it gets to the National Assembly.

    He explained that the bill would enable farmers to have access to finance, adding that it would ensure that warehouse receipts could become legal tender.

    He decried the country’s large work force engaged in agriculture, saying it has brought little returns because of the lack of financing.

    Santuraki said the future of Nigeria is in agriculture. He explained that the purpose of the visit was to work out ways for value chain financing and how to get agricultural commodities to the market.

  • BoA, Sokoto provide N1b agric loan

    BoA, Sokoto provide N1b agric loan

    The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and the Sokoto State government have provided N1.15 billion loans to farmers in the 23 local government areas in the state.

    The scheme is being operated under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the state government and BOA.

    Through the agreement, the government provided N650 million while the bank provided N500 million.

    The Managing Director of BOA, Dr. Mohammed Santuraki, said the loans were given to  small  farmers, who account for 90 per cent of farmers in the state.

    He said the farmers can only operate well when given the necessary support.

    He decried the massive importation of food into Nigeria, despite  the vast  fertile land in the country.

    “So we are happy with this collaboration and this event has become a reality today barely five weeks after the signing of the MoU with the state government,” Santuraki added.

    The Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wammako, said each of the 23 local governments was given N50 million, adding that  the gesture would only be extended to genuine farmers. Wammako said it is revolving scheme, aimed at encouraging farmers to produce more.

    He said the bank would  provide technical assistance to the beneficiaries of the loans in form of extension services for growth.

     

  • BoA, Sokoto disburse N1.15b loan

    The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and the Sokoto State government have begun the disbursement of about N1.15 billion agricultural loan to small scale farmers in Sokoto State for dry season farming under an arrangement between the bank and the state.

    Under the arrangement, the bank is to provide about N650 million to the farmers while the Sokoto state government will provide the balance of N500 million.

    Speaking while take off the disbursement,Governor Magatakarda Wamakko said each of the 23 local governments was given N50 million, adding that the gesture will only be extended to genuine farmers.

    Governor Wamakko said the loan scheme, which is a revolving one was aimed at encouraging the beneficiaries to produce more food, saying: “This is also aimed at reducing the menace of poverty and unemployment, rural -urban drift and political tuggery in the state.”

    He said the state government will pay the initial deposits for 2,000 farmers who will get N 205,000 each under a Federal Government cassava production programme, adding that “the importance of the agricultural sector cannot be over emphasised and we are determined to restore its lost glory.”

    Managing Director of the BoA Dr Mohammed Santuraki decried the massive importation of food into Nigeria in spite of its vast fertile land available.

    Santuraki noted that the loans were targeted at small holder farmers, who according to him, are about 90 per. He added that with the appropriate support through the provision of quality input, even the small holder can operate profitably.

    “So, we are happy with this collaboration and this event has become a reality today barely five weeks after the signing of the MoU with the state government,” he said.

    He promised that, the bank will provide technical assistance to the beneficiaries of the loans in the form of extension services, adding this sectoral knowledge and ability of the BoA stands it apart from others in the delivery of agricultural finance.

  • BoA, Sokoto partner on agric funding

    The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and the Sokoto State government have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will see the bank disbursing N1 billion loans to farmers in the state.

    Under the collaboration, BoA will provide N250,000 to each individual across the 23 local governments of the state.

    The bank, in a statement, said 5000 farmers were expected to benefit from the initiative.

    BoA Managing Director Dr. Mohammed K. Santuraki, praised the state government for the transformation in the state, especially in infrastructural development. Santuraki said Sokoto was blessed with immense water resources and dams which could be harnessed for the good of the masses.

    He thanked the government for giving agriculture the highest priority, adding that both parties would benefit from the collaboration. He said the loan would be repaid within two years,

    Also, the Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, said the collaboration marked his administration’s first direct relationship with the bank. He was represented at the signing of the agreement by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Arzika Tureta. Wamako promised to work with the bank to provide more money for farmers. He said the government would leverage the bank’s growth to improve the lot of farmers.

    He reiterated the commitment of the government to reducing poverty and unemployment rates.

    “Food security is paramount and we are determined to take all the necessary measures for the people in the state to have food on their tables,” he said.

     

  • FG, BOA, sign pact with cassava farmers

    FG, BOA, sign pact with cassava farmers

    The Federal Government and the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) on Thursday signed a N4.1 billion credit facility to support cassava farmers in the country.

    The facility is of eight percent interest rate expected to be repaid within 24 months.

    The Managing Director of the BOA, Dr. Mohammed Santuraki , who disclosed this, said the gesture was part of the bank’s contribution to development of agriculture.

    He explained that the loan would make available N205, 000 per hectare of land for 20,000 farmers nationwide.

    “Approximately, each farmer will be getting over N205, 000 multiplied by 20 farmers. This is just the beginning because cassava is a crop which is beneficial and can be grown anywhere in the country,” he said.

    However, Santuraki who was represented by Executive Director, Wholesale and Finance, Mallam Waziri Ahmadu noted that the benefitting farmers must meet up with the requirement and must have paid outstanding loans.

    “We have both agreed on modalities for members of NCGA to access the facilities in the Bank of Agriculture through mutually benefitting partnership and collaborations,” he added.