Federal Executive
Council (FEC), has approved the nation’s bid for a loan of $200 million (N32
billion) from the International Development Association, an arm of the World
Bank, for Fadama III agriculture projects in six states of the federation.
According to Yerima
Ngama, Minister of State, Finance, the aim is “to increase the incomes for
users of rural lands and water resources within the Fadama areas in a
sustainable manner” that will involve information and communication support,
advisory services, site and on-farm demonstration, marching grants for
individual farmers, and projects monitoring, in line with the Agricultural
Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the present administration.
He described the
loan as interest-free payable over 40 years with a 10-year moratorium although
there is a 0.075 per cent service charge. An extra $50 million to the loan will
be provided locally by Nigerian government and benefiting communities and
through counterpart funding to complete the total value of the $250 million
Fadama III project.
Minister of
Agriculture, Akinwunmi Adesina, further explained that the success of Fadama II
encouraged this IDA loan which will now focus on rice, cassava, sorghum and
horticulture in Lagos, Niger, Anambra, Enugu and Kano states.
He stated a total
of 317, 000 farmers will be targeted and irrigation facilities will be enhanced
with 50 per cent of the marching grants extended to women and youth.
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