Ugwuanyi urges banks to make loan accessible to farmers

Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has appealed to financial institutions to make loans easily accessible to farmers to enhance productivity and ensure food security.

Ugwuanyi made the appeal on Tuesday in Enugu, while declaring open a two-day workshop on International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Technical Assistance Support to Financial Suppliers and Other Value Chain Actors in three states.

The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Matthew Idu, said that financial aid to farmers was highly necessary to enhance food production and make agricultural practices more attractive.

He urged financial institutions to come up with policies to cut down on protocol and “undue demands” before a simple loan could be granted to “genuine but poor farmers”.

“Financial institutions should not cluster their loans with lots of demands and even those beyond the poor farmers to provide.

“You should see how best to work out loans with farmers.

“Bank agricultural desk officers should go to the field and know the farmers one-on-one.

“This is to ensure that loans are not given to political farmers.

“The end point is repayment of the loan and present realities and studies show that genuine farmers always repay their loans by making sacrifices to ensure good yields,” Ugwuanyi said.

He thanked IFAD Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) for the financial literacy and support trainings to farmers in the state.

“It is clear that what is learnt and being implemented by IFAD-VCDP programme will be used to boost the state’s farmers participation in Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme,’’ he said.

Earlier, the National Programme Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP, Mr Garba Bala, said the workshop would provide technical assistance support to selected financial institutions and other value-chain actors to enhance financial inclusiveness of VCDP beneficiaries.

Bala, represented by Mr Seriki Musa, National Rural Finance Officer of IFAD-VCDP, said the beneficiaries were those within IFAD-VCDP programme activities along the rice and cassava value chain.

The Chairman, Commodity Alliance Forum (CAF), Enugu IFAD-VCDP, Dr Godwin Abonyi, said the workshop, which provided a direct interaction between bank officials and farmers, would help to carry farmers along on access and issues concerning loans.

“This workshop will help to create knowledge that will ensure value addition and sustenance of farming businesses.

“Good financial literacy will make for higher growth in agricultural productivity and create the much needed impact of agriculture to the state and nation at large.

“Having a good financial knowledge will also ensure that farmers only take viable and reduced interest loans,” Abonyi said.

It was reported that the workshop is being attended by at least 50 participants drawn from Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu State.