Minister Urges Banks to Increase Agric Funding

The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has urged the Organised Private Sector (OPS), especially Nigerian banks, to increase funding in agriculture and make the country food self-sufficient.

The Minister, who identified lack of capital and research as a major
hindrance to job creation and development in the sector, also stressed the need for banks to support the growth of the sector by lending on a single digit rate to farmers.

Access to funding will boost agricultural production, as farmers will be
able to invest in higher yield seedling, better farming tools including
irrigation as well as afford extension services like research and
development.

This will in turn, impact on harvest though the availability of foods for
the masses, higher revenues for farmers and greater contribution to the
Gross Domestic Product (GDP).