Agriculture
Bank Pledges Digitised Payment Solutions For Farmers
Nigeria’s pioneer payment service bank, 9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB) says it is committed to growing Nigeria’s agriculture value chain by supporting payment needs of farmers through accessible, easy and inclusive payment solutions.
Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Branka Mracajac, who gave the assurance recently while speaking at the Vanguard Economic Forum Series, held in Lagos, identified funding and digitisation as solutions to Nigeria’s agriculture development challenges.
In a keynote address titled, “Digitizing Payment & Agricultural Value Chain Financing for Small Holder and Commercial Farmers”, she said the solution to solving Nigeria’s agriculture value chain is two-fold: the need to increase funding for Agribusiness, and to digitise payments in the agriculture value chain.
Mracajac said, while there are ongoing efforts to solidify the country’s financial inclusion mandate, it is important to speed up actions on addressing the gap on financial literacy.
“Although, there is an increase in the uptake of digital financial products and payment platforms in Nigeria, the fact remains that most farmers in rural Nigeria are unbanked and have little or no access to formal financial services, including adequate information on the most basic elements of financial concepts”, she said.
Noting challenges warranted by lack of digital access to the farmer, she explained that, ‘’If you therefore visit the yam and garri market at Iseyin, in Oyo State, where, for instance, there is a hub of these small-scale farmers, you will discover that a lot of the payments for farm produce and other services are cash transactions.
“People travel from major Southwest cities carrying heavy cash for their goods, because the farmer from whom they buy the products does not accept or understand or trust digital modes of payment”, she stated.
She stressed further the need for collaboration among stakeholders to create solutions that would enhance the agricultural value chain in Nigeria, saying that “9PSB is particularly invested in strategic partnerships and collaboration that enables accessible, seamless, efficient and an inclusive financial service for all”.
Also speaking, the Co-Chair, Comms Sub-Committee, UN Food Systems Summit Nigeria Cohort, Richard Mark Mbaram, noted that in solving food security issues, there is need to integrate smart solutions.
“If we are looking at achieving a world free of hunger by 2030, then we need to aggressively look into improving the capacity and productivity of farmers as well as expanding the market frontiers to make the agribusiness viable and attractive”, he said.
On his part, the Vice President, Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Dr. Emmanuel Ijewere, spoke about creating an environment where Nigerian farmers would be able to partake in the global agric export trade.
According to him, the need has arisen to “emphasise smart agriculture and mechanised farming to enable farmers overcome the natural encumbrances that come with the business in terms of storage, farm implements, seedlings, fertilisers, quality of produce etc”.
At the end of the day, all the speakers at the Summit agreed that there must be a cross sectoral collaborative effort consisting of grassroots actions and initiatives that will create an ecosystem to reduce transactional cost, improve efficient cash management, accountability and transparency, drive financial footprints for end-stage beneficiaries, while providing them with access to the financial ecosystem and improving information for credit scoring.
Federal Government and the Ogun State Government, on Wednesday, distributed farm inputs to farmers as part of effort to address food security challenge.
The State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Toyin Ayo-Ajayi, during the flag-off ceremony of Inputs Redemption Under The National Agricultural Growth Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP), in Ogun State, disclosed that beneficiaries of the gesture were primarily rice, maize and cassava farmers across the State.
Ayo-Ajayi commended the Ogun State Government for partnering with the government at the centre for the effort in supporting farmers with inputs that would bring about yieldings for local consumption and likely exportation.
She noted that government is supporting rice, cassava and maize farmers with inputs worth N212,000; N189,000 and N186,000 respectively.
The Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Kehinde Jokotoye, who represented the Commissioner in the Ministry, Bolu Owotomo, stated that traditional farmers are critical in food production, hence the need to encourage and support them with inputs that would bring about desired results during harvesting.
Owotomo said: “Let us make good use of this opportunity, so that the success of this phase will make farmers benefit more from the state and federal governments of Nigeria.”
Earlier, State Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Oluwatoyin Ayo-Ajayi, appreciated the present administration for partnering with the federal government for the initiative, adding that the programme is designed to support farmers at the grassroots level in cassava, rice and maize with inputs such as, seeds, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, to boost their production and enhance their livelihood.
The Niger State Government has mapped out 10,000 hectares of farmland in Gbapo Community of Katcha Local Government Area of the State for smallholder farmers to benefit from the state government’s agricultural intervention programme.
Two thousand out of the 10,000 holders of the farmlands have already received inputs.
At a flag-off ceremony in Yinti Village, the facilitator of the programme, Shinkafan Nupe, Malam Idris Usman Makanta, assured the farmers of increased distributions to the mapped-out ten thousand (10,000) farmlands if farmers respond positively.
He explained that the commencement of the two thousand is to measure the positive response of farmers before obtaining full-scale support.
Malam Makanta stated that this initiative aligns with the farmers’ initial commitment through Niger Foods, whose mission is primarily geared towards establishing efficient and profitable agricultural businesses to support the present administration of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s quest to boost agricultural productivity in the state.
He also commended Niger Foods for their steadfastness and resilience in the effective implementation of the input financing scheme.
Makanta reiterated the commitment of the State Governor in making judicious use of the arable land in the state.
Shinkafan Nupe, therefore, urged the farmers to support the Governor by using the inputs wisely so that the dream can be actualised.
The Gombe State Government has empowered a total of 573,429 farmers and entrepreneurs under the 4th phase of the GO-CARES programme.
The programme was officially flagged off by Governor Inuwa Yahaya in another major step towards alleviating poverty and supporting the state’s vulnerable populations.
The Governor, while inaugurating the disbursement in Akko Community of Akko Local Government Area, restated his administration’s commitment to the welfare of vulnerable citizens in the state.
He was represented by the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Salihu Baba Alkali, who is also the Chairman of the Steering Committee on GO- CARES implementation.
“The 4th phase of GO-CARES will directly and indirectly impact a total of 573,429 citizens across the state. Of these, 152,429 individuals will benefit directly through cash transfers, livelihood grants, agricultural inputs, and operational grants to small businesses”, he stated.
The Governor added that, “421,000 people will be indirect beneficiaries through infrastructural projects such as classroom blocks, healthcare facilities, WASH services, and rural infrastructure projects like culverts and drainages”.
Yahaya, reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the state’s most vulnerable citizens are not left behind in the state’s development.
According to him, “Earlier this year, on June 25, 2024, we flagged off the distribution of improved seedlings, fertilizers, and herbicides to less privileged farmers in Malam Sidi, Kwami Local Government Area, signaling the commencement of the 4th phase implementation of GO-CARES under Result Area 2”.
The Governor reiterated that these initiatives have had a significant impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries and the overall agricultural sector.
He explained that, “Today’s ceremony marked the simultaneous launch of activities under all three GO-CARES Result Areas for the 4th phase. These areas include: State Cash Transfer Grants: 2,500 direct beneficiaries; Labour Intensive Public Works: 2,700 direct beneficiaries; Livelihood Grants: 10,000 direct beneficiaries; and Basic Services: 405,000 indirect beneficiaries”.
