CBN agrees to 5% lending rate for farmers – Ogbeh

CBN agrees to 5% lending rate for farmers – Ogbeh

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has agreed that loans by banks to farmers in the country should attract only five per cent interest, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, said Tuesday.

Mr. Ogbeh made this known on Tuesday, while delivering a keynote address at the opening of a two-day national workshop on a “New Agricultural Policy for Nigeria”.

The workshop was organised by the National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria (NAFN) in collaboration with the ministry and All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN).

According to the minister, the agreement followed discussions with key officials of the apex bank on Tuesday morning.

“Just this morning, I have talks with key officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria to bring the lending rate to five per cent

“With those rates, I assure you as a man, who has been in this business – agriculture – since the age of seven years, you cannot make profit in agriculture,’’ Mr. Ogbeh said.

“EATING IS A RIGHT”- AFDB PRESIDENT

EATING RIGHT QUALITY AND QUANTITY FOOD IS A RIGHT...............Agro Nigeria

The President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has emphasized that food, in quantity and quality, is the right of every human being, noting that what is most important is the safety of the belly.

Adesina who disclosed this at the just concluded conference on agriculture and agribusiness with the theme “Feeding Africa” held in Dakar, said Africa is ready to molt agriculture in a commercial enterprise – a transformation that requires the diversification of the agricultural sector.

The AfDB President is convinced that “Africa has to be the breadbasket of the world, however in order to achieve this, she must release her full potential and make a radical transformation of agriculture.

Adesina stated that according to estimates, the bill for food imports in Africa totaled US $ 35 billion annually. This he said should encourage Africans to develop her agricultural sector and dedicate the budget devoted to food imports to something else.