The World Bank has offered a total sum of N370 million as an agricultural loan to accredited farmers in 10 selected rural communities under Argo-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) in Jigawa state
Flagging off the loan facility distribution, the Jigawa state governor Malam Umar Namadi said the World Bank intervention is timely and described it as a strong support to the present administration to achieve its 12-point agenda presented to the people in the state before voting into power.
The governor explained that empowering rural communities through their own businesses and creating an enabling environment for the sustainable growth of those businesses is clearly captured in our government’s 12-point agenda and the World Bank revolving fund intervention is absolutely designed to achieve so.
According to him under the project, 10 communities are selected and each community would benefit by the sum of N37 million to be shared among the screen and accredited farmers to engage on respective of each farmer cropping business.
Namadi maintained “I am optimistic that, this money if injected and properly utilized in the ten beneficiary communities will make a difference, in terms of poverty eradication, jobs creation sustainable food security and development.”
“Therefore, I urged the beneficiaries and funds managers to be honest and fear God in collecting and repayment of the loan for others to benefit.”
In his speech at the occasion, the state commissioner for the environment, Nura Ibrahim explained that the Community Revolving Funds (CRFs) loan was designed to support rural community/farmer groups to undertake investments specific to the climate-smart rain-fed crops intervention which is critical to delivering investment at community and household level”
“CRF is not a grant but rather an investment fund for the village that can revolve and grow over time as an innovative approach to project sustainability under ACReSAL project geared to increase the adoption of sustainable landscape management practices in targeted watersheds in northern Nigeria.
“Each eligible farmers group with a minimum of 10-25 beneficiaries will receive $25,000 and we are targeting 2,800 groups with the loan in the state,” Nura stated.
In her speech, one of the beneficiaries from the women farmers group Hajiya Iya Wawu expressed their gratitude to the state governor, World Bank and all the people who contributed to the actualization of the program, and promised to sustain the programme.
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