By BLAISE UDUNZE
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has decried the non-functionality of the N450 billion Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), a special credit portfolio set aside by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Adesina lamented during the inaugural meeting of the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NAG).
He said that following the research carried out by the Agriculture Ministry and stakeholders it was revealed that NIRSAL was yet to function properly and discharge its purpose owing to the high interest rate pegged on it by banks allotted to disburse the funds to farmers.
He lamented that the high interest rate has continued to obstruct the aim of establishing the credit risk guarantee and interest drawback fund programme operated by the CBN to stimulate agricultural financing and trigger the nation's agricultural industrialisation process.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Dizengoff West Africa Limited, Mr Richard Hargrave at the forum said that the agricultural sector in the country may not grow the way it should due to lack of funds for farmers.
Hargrave said it would be impossible for any farmer to survive with the high interest rate, adding that because farming is a capital intensive business, funding has been one of the biggest challenges to farmers and that until this was resolved, Nigeria would not prosper in food production.
He said the passion and zeal shown by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Adesina to revive the agricultural sector was highly commendable but that much would not come out of it without the private sector driving the process.
However, the Minister disclosed that the global financial institutions had endorsed the establishment of staple crop processing zones in the country, which according to him, would attract private sector investment in the industry. Adesina also said that the private sector contribution to the agricultural transformation agenda in Nigeria had tremendously increased within the last 18 months.
Via: Sun News Online