Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has said the best way to eradicate poverty is to cultivate more lands for agriculture.
“If we really want to rise above the poverty line, the way to do that is through agriculture …There is a need for renewed focus on agriculture and agro processing,” AbdulRazaq said on Friday when the board of Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) visited him in Ilorin, the state capital.
“Kwara is located in a part of Nigeria where the land is arable. We hope to make you our partner in progress (to drive agricultural growth). We hope to work with you immediately.”
Stressing the need for the people to cultivate more lands for agricultural purposes, he called for more enlightenment on the activities of various government initiatives to support agriculture, saying not many people were aware of the opportunities that were available with the ACGSF.
AbdulRazaq also said the state government planned to pursue several developmental initiatives through the Public Private Partnership, PPP.
Speaking on the purpose of the visit, chairman of the board, Okokon Udo, said the scheme encouraged banks to lend to farmers by providing guarantee for loans for crops and livestock production and processing.
“It mitigates risks associated with banks’ lending to agriculture through formal assurance to pay banks 75.0 per cent of the net amount in default in accordance with the provisions of the enabling Act,” Udo said.
He said while Kwara was the third state with the highest number of loans from the scheme, there was a need to further enlighten the public on the advantages of accessing the facilities to “empower themselves and enhance their agricultural activities and income-earning capacity.”
