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Edo farmers get N5bn investment

Published

5 years ago

April 11, 2019

Edo farmers get N5bn investment

Edo State Government has said it is investing N5 billion drawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchor Borrowers programme on development of over 10,600 hectares of land, which will guarantee farmers in the state access to funding to boost productivity.

Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Prince Joe Okojie, disclosed this after sensitisation workshops for farmers who are to benefit from the programme in Ekpoma, Usogbenu and Illushi, during the Edo Central Senatorial district leg of engagement with the farmers. The farmers to benefit from the programme are drawn from all senatorial districts in the state.

Okojie said N1.2 billion would be expended on rice farming in Iguariaki, Iguomon, Illushi, Agenebode and Warake and on maize cultivation in Ekpoma, Usugbenu and Sobe.

“We have set a target to harvest 17,000 metric tons of rice by cultivating 4,000 hectares of land and 11,000 tons of maize by cultivating 6,600 hectares of land at the end of the planting season in 2019. We took about N5bn under the Commercial Agric Credit Scheme, about N2.2bn is for crop production, N2.3bn for land development and about N100m for irrigation,” he explained.

He said the investment is aimed at producing millionaire agriprenuers by helping them scale up their production through mechanisation, noting, “We have employed the services of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) as our technical partner. NIRSAL is going to bring on board a lot of agronomists who will help our farmers.

“We want to deploy best practices for the cultivation of the crops this season and hope that we get better yield than the one that we got two years ago.”

Field Officer, NIRSAL, Mr. Paul Jatau, said NIRSAL is partnering with Edo State government to provide technical support and inputs to the farmers, urging farmers to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the programme to scale their operations into commercial enterprises

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FG woos foreign mining investors with lower production cost

Published

20 hours ago

November 28, 2023

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

Cutting red tapes which slow business transactions and improving the security of mining operations are among fresh commitments unfolded by Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake at the Mines & Money Conference which opened in London, United Kingdom on Tuesday.

Addressing global stakeholders in the mining industry, Alake, in the 15-minute speech pitched for more investment in Nigeria listing unique advantages such as lower production cost due to surface mining and billions of dollar untapped minerals.
He quoted recent reports by audit firm KPMG which reported that mining’s contribution to Nigeria’s GDP rose from 0.3 percent to 0.85 percent last year, indicating 0.63 percent year on year growth.

His words: “The country’s geological bounty encompasses over 44 distinct mineral types, found in exploitable quantities across more than 500 locations. Recently, recognizing the evolving global landscape and in response to emerging trends, Lithium has been included as a crucial strategic mineral of global consequence.”

Dr. Alake said the administration of President Bola Tinubu has embarked on reforms to boost investment by streamlining procedures and reducing hurdles to attract foreign investors.

Showcasing recent progress in creating conditions for solid minerals development, Dr. Alake highlighted fresh data revealed by the Airborne Geophysical Survey, memorandum of understanding with German firm Geoscan to gather more data on solid minerals across the country and access to finance through a new funding facility launched by the Africa Finance Corporation and the Solid Minerals Development Fund.

The minister reminded the global mining community of the Federal Government ‘s policies on how mining operations must benefit the communities and lead to processing instead of wholesale export of raw minerals.

“ Nigeria is currently emphasizing Solid Minerals Beneficiation and Value-Addition as a panacea for quick and sustainable growth of the Mining Industry…By adding value to our raw materials, we not only create higher value products but also generate employment opportunities for our teeming youth and increase the sector’s overall profitability and contribution to the nation’s GDP”, he said
Dr. Alake urged investors to support socio-economic development of the communities where they mine to make mining mutually beneficial.

Citing the recent launch of the revised guidelines for Community Development Agreement which provides for social amenities, educational support, health and safety environmental facilities.

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