From Okwe Obi
The federal government’s planned recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has sharply divided experts in the food sector.
While some have lauded the initiative, others describe it as another political statement. Two weeks ago, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Abdullahi Sabi, announced the move when he received the Emir of Borgu, Mohammed Sani Haliru, in Abuja. According to Sabi, the government is committed to reforming the BOA to boost food production through loan accessibility.
The minister, who did not disclose how soon the recapitalisation process would commence or the amount of money that would be allocated, said: “We are reforming the Bank of Agriculture to serve Nigerians. We are recapitalising it to make food accessible and affordable to Nigerians. We must keep producing and keep producing food for Nigerians.”
This comes six years after the then Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, in 2019, said the government would inject N250 billion into BOA within 90 days. But that promise never materialised. A farmer, Mohammed Yahaya, said it is not enough for the government to make promises without fulfilling them. Yahaya also doubted whether genuine farmers would have access to the funds in record time.
“For most of us farmers, information like this does not impress us because this is not the first time the government would come up with this initiative without fulfilling it.
“Previous ministers made similar promises but never implemented them. Every day, the BOA is going down. The government should have told us the amount of money it plans to inject into the bank so that we can hold on to it. What is the timeline?
“I think it was in January that the government said it wanted to conduct a census for farmers. Since then, we have not heard anything. Personally, I doubt the genuineness of the government.”
Coordinator of Home-Grown Food Initiative, Amina Shaibu, argued that the funds would end up in the pockets of portfolio farmers.
Shaibu questioned the number of persons prosecuted for failing to repay loans they collected from BOA before it went underground.
“The minister should start by telling us how many loan defaulters were prosecuted in the past. You cannot keep recapitalising the Bank of Agriculture without meaningful contributions to the food sector.
“How do you even identify real farmers who would access the loans when the government has yet to conduct a census?
“The government should start by conducting a credible census and documenting real farmers so that they can benefit from the initiative. Then we can say the government is serious.” For Peter Gwamzhi, a farmer in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, the government should be given the benefit of the doubt.
Gwamzhi said: “It is a welcome move. This will certainly boost food production and security. The government should be sincere in the disbursement process.
“The interest rate should be reduced to encourage farmers to repay their loans. The government should set up an inspection team to monitor the growth of the farmers.”