Lagos – Ahead of the 2016 planting season, the Farmers Empowerment and Development Association of Nigeria (FEDAN) has called for early disbursement of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s agricultural loans.
Mr Sola Adepomola, the National Coordinator of the association, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
Adepomola said that FEDAN was working to ensure that its members accessed funds by the Federal Government and other financial institutions at reduced interest rates.
According to him, early disbursement of the loan would enhance productivity and reduce poverty.
He said that it would also enable Nigeria meets goals one and two of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Agriculture is capital intensive; serious farmers, wishing to record high productivity, will require funds to add value to their produce.
“Preparations for the 2016 season have begun and farming activities, like ploughing and planting, need money for implementation.
“That is why we are calling on financial institutions to begin to disburse funds early in 2016, in order to enhance agricultural production.
“When this is done, prices of food and inflation rate will reduce dramatically while meeting goals one and two of the SDGs,” Adepomola said.
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The coordinator appealed to the Bank of Industry (BOI) and Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to support farmers in order to improve food processing and reducing food importation. (NAN)