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•Vows to chastise N20bn debtors
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Ayo Sotinrin, has said the federal government would soon release N1.5 trillion recapitalisation fund for the bank.
He also said the bank would go after those indebted to the bank which amounts to over N20 billion.
Sotinrin, divulged this at the National Young People’s Dialogue on Inclusive Food Systems, organised by ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and supported by GIZ Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies (AgSys) yesterday in Abuja.
He said aside raising international capital, the bank would provide support for at least 70 million farmers to boost food production.
He said: “The recapitalisation fund is N1.5 trillion. We also intend to raise the international capital so that we can cover a lot of value chains within the sector.
“We have a high rate of foreign loans. What we are looking at is to appeal to Nigerians who owe the bank money to repay.
“BOA does not engage in largesse. We are not a political association or movement; we are a bank, even though it is owned by the government. We are beginning an ‘operation recover loan’, to appeal to those who owe the bank to bring our money back.
“Also, to tell them that if they are able to return their loans, they will be entitled to new loans but with a new condition. We plan to digitize the bank. We are almost there.
“We are having sleepless nights to make it a technological-driven bank, which will enable farmers to get the right kind of capital. Enforcement will start after we have appealed to everybody. The debt is above N20 billion.
“We want to support 70 million farmers to start to think about agriculture not just as a way of life but as a business. It starts with us going through our foundation in rebuilding how to create food systems, which is moving from one ton per hectare to nine tons per hectare. It only makes sense to increase our yield so that we can solve food insecurity.”
Deputy Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Suwaiba Dankabo, complained that despite the potential of agriculture to tackle hunger, the sector “faces numerous challenges that hinder effective youth participation and employment.”
Dankabo said there is an “urgent need to establish the Nigerian Youth in AgriTech & Innovation Programme (NYATIP) Fund which is a high-return investment to support rural and urban young people in agriculture for employment generation, poverty reduction and economic growth and transformation.”
