Access to funds critical to boost food security – Expert

An agriculture expert, Mr Okon Amah, has stressed the need for farmers to access funds to boost the country’s agriculture sector.

Amah said this in an interview held in Lagos State.

The expert who described agriculture as a social enterprise and not just for profiteering urged commercial banks to grant loans to local farmers, especially local farmers a priority.

“Funding is key in boosting the growth and potential of the Nigerian agriculture sector.Commercial banks should be part of funding for local farmers. They hardly comply when farmers seek loans from them. This is something that the authorities and policy makers should look into.

“That is why Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) is there to de-risk the loans that farmers collect from the banks, yet the banks are not forthcoming. The commercial banks see funding or loans for agribusiness as high risk, this narrative really has to change.

“The government needs to step into the situation. Farming is a social enterprise, it is not all about profit but ensuring food security,” he said.

Amah said that farmers should be supported with loans to stay in business and feed the nation.

“Funding of agribusiness should be taken as a critical social enterprise.The agriculture sector can be decentralized into different segments and each sub-sector given adequate attention to grow,” he added.

He noted that the funding should go to legitimate farmers and not to political farmers.

“However, these funding should go to direct farmers and not to the portfolio of political farmers. The real farmers are the practicing farmers who actually run physical farms and not only in documentation.

“The government should liaise more with the various farming associations and cooperatives when disbursing funds for agriculture,” he said.

Amah said that training and retraining of farmers by the government was paramount to boost food security.

“The government should train and retrain farmers in order to boost their capacity of ensuring higher yields and food security for the nation,” he said.

NAN / Foluke Ibitomi