SEGUN AYINDE, ABEOKUTA
Following the launch of Ogun State Anchor Borrowers Scheme on Monday, the State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has granted FADAMA loans and lands credit facilities to 200 unemployed graduates in the state.
This is just as he plans to put 40,000 youth on the scheme with the support from Central Bank and World Bank.
Abiodun said that the 200 beneficiaries of the Scheme would be given automatic slots as the first set of farmers to get grants from the scheme.
The governor made the disclosure at the official flag off of ceremony of Fadama 3 graduate unemployed youth scheme held at the Governor’s office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Abiodun, who said that the scheme targets women and youth in the state said that employed citizens would contribute immensely to the socio-economic development of the state and the country.
According to him, agriculture is becoming an antidote to the problem of poverty and insecurity in the country, saying that apart from allocating hectares of land to the beneficiaries, certificates of occupancy, clearing facilities, seedlings and fertilizer, their services would be extended to off-takers, who would buy their produce for industrial use.
He said, “I have mandated my consultant on Agriculture to mainstream these set of FADAMA graduates into our anchor borrowers programme and by the grace of God, you will be the first beneficiaries of our anchor borrowers programme.”
“Under the anchor borrowers programme, beneficiaries would be allocated an hectare of land with certificates of occupancy, provided clearing facilities, offered seedlings, fertiliser and extension services as well as off-takers who would buy off the produce for their industrial needs.
“The ‘Fadama Guys’ is particularly unique because it is targeted at two main vulnerable groups of our population, the youths and the women and we are also elated that our Public Private Partnership approach towards the successful implementation of building our future together agenda is already yielding positive results,”
“The Micro Economic level, this Fadama Guys provides job employment opportunities in agriculture for our youths and women, thereby providing income and food for themselves and family, on the Macro Economic level, this is another boost to Nigeria’s Food and Self Sufficiency Agenda, this will go a long way to reduce foreign exchange spent on importation of food items that could be produced locally,” he added.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Abosede Ogunleye, said that the programme was to enhance unemployed graduates and women in the state, charging the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the scheme.
