THE Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA) has identified limited finance, high cost of power generation, limited storage facilities and inadequate market information as some of the problems confronting Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
The Ogun State chapter of UNIFEMGA, in a communique after its third agricultural conference held in Abeokuta, resolved that to get it right as a country, correct measures must be taken to address identified problems.
The conference with the theme, ‘Agricultural Entrepreneurship and Development: Access to Finance and Funding Opportunities’, expressed concern that corruption had badly hurt Nigeria’s economy and until the problem is tackled, the country will not make any progress.
UNIFEMGA stated that interventions and aids which could have helped the sector only came as crash programme and was not consistent.
According to the association, managing natural occurrences such as flooding, which could lead to famine, must also be taken into consideration for Nigeria to move forward in the agricultural sector.
The communique also identified national insecurity and mistrust, banditry, kidnapping and Boko Haram insurgency as some of the factors responsible for the reluctance of financial institutions to provide credit facilities for agricultural ventures “as it poses a great financial risk and therefore attracts high interest rate that is mostly unaffordable to agricultural entrepreneurs.”
It said: “Corruption is the bane of our economy and until we drive it out from all the sectors of the economy, we are going nowhere as a nation. The challenges confronting Nigeria as a nation, among others, are lack of modernisation/mechanisation, market volatility, limited finance, tax and duties laced with inconsistencies by government and high cost of power generation.
“Project interventions and aids come as crash programme and are not consistent. Natural phenomena are very difficult to cope with and manage because of the negativities such as flood which washes away farm settlements and which may result in famine. So also are national insecurity and mistrust, banditry, kidnapping, Boko Haram insurgency, etc.
“These challenges are responsible for the reluctance of financial institutions to provide credit for agriculture venture as it poses a great financial risk and therefore attracts high interest rate that is mostly unaffordable to agriculture entrepreneurs. With less than five percent of banks’ credit granted to the sector, finance from traditional banks remains a major challenge to agricultural development in Nigeria.
“In order to bridge the gap within the agriculture credit market, financial institutions have a critical role to play by developing areas around the value chain through product financing, financing of farm inputs, financial advisory and financial literacy. Financial institutions must understand that whatever financing option to adopt must be mutually beneficial.”
While calling on those who want to embrace agriculture as business to have sound knowledge of the sector through mentorship and research, the association urged government and policymakers to show sincerity of purpose in addressing the multiple challenges facing the nation’s economy so that people would be encouraged to put in their best.
“Government policy must not be anti-people and anti-innovation as we have in most situations in Nigeria where upcoming local businesses are brutally killed by multiple unexplained heavy financial demands from government agencies,” it added.
Participants at the conference include a former Minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Najeemdeen Adewale; chairman of UNIFEMGA Board of Trustees, Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti; a former Vice Chancellor of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Professor Sabur Adesanya and chairman of the occasion as well as the National President of UNIFEMGA, Alhaji Abdulfattah Olanlege.
Others were the guest speakers, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Lotus Bank, Alhaja Kafilat Araoye; Professor Jimoh Farinde from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; the chairman of UNIFEMGA, Ogun State, Mr Tairu Olarenwaju: representatives of the various chapters of UNIFEMGA, and other stakeholders in agricultural sector.
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