Epe (Lagos)- A Lagos-based farmers group, Ageloba Farmers Association, has commended the Federal Government’s Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA) and the Rural Finance Institution Building (RUFIN) programmes geared towards accelerating grassroots development.
The President of the association, Mrs Adenike Charles, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos that the association had received a lot of farm inputs from ATA and had improved access to finance for business growth under RUFIN.
“We have benefited from ATA and through the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme, I received fingerlings, nets and smoking clown.
“We have accessed farm implements which include engine boats and electricity generators; we paid 10 per cent and we shall pay the balance as we keep using them and making profit,” she said.
According to her, the association has benefited a lot from RUFIN and that it had linked them to Lapo Micro Finance Bank where she accessed loan up to N180, 000.
She said that RUFIN’s intervention made it possible for the loan to be obtained without collateral.
The president said her fishery had received a tremendous boost, adding that she was already diversifying, in addition to being able to erect a house of her own.
Also speaking, the Chief of Ado-Ikosi, Adesina Adesinya, said the Federal Government had done a lot for rural dwellers through the GES scheme, adding that access to farm input had improved.
He, however, said there was the need to do more as there were many rural inhabitants that have yet to benefit from the scheme.
On RUFIN, he said the intervention had brought over 300 per cent growth in his farming.
He said members of his community had similar stories to narrate, noting that the programme should be extended beyond the seven-year term.
NAN reports that RUFIN is being implemented in 12 states across the six geo-political zones, with two from each zone.
The programme enjoys financial assistance from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a UN agency.
It is being implemented over a seven-year period and specifically targets marginalised groups such as women, young people and persons with disabilities.
The objective of this programme is to strengthen microfinance institutions and establish linkages between them and formal financial institutions.
It lays the foundation for the long-term development of a sustainable rural financial system that would eventually operate throughout the country.
The programme reaches out to the poor rural people so as to enable them to access financial services and improve productivity in agriculture and small businesses.
The Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) is a programme of the Federal Government being driven by the GES scheme.
The GES scheme is a technology through which farmers have access to farm inputs such as seeds, fertiliser and agro-chemical at subsidised rate.
The scheme has been expanded to include access to loans, farm machinery such as tractors and extension services. (NAN)
