A Nigerian cooperative group, National AgroAllied Commodities Cooperative Services, is to partner with the World Bank to launch a six-year food security programme worth $500 million in the country.
President-General of the cooperative, Queen Hajarat Victoria Adeyeye, the Yeye Oodua Agbaye of Ife Kingdom, in a statement in Abuja, said it is part of the plan to offer loan facilities to small the country.
Adeyeye said the loan facility will enable farmers to contribute to food security and become self-sufficient in food production. She commended the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Alhaji Abubakar Kyari, and the Managing Director, Bank of Agriculture (BoA), for approving the release of funds to enable early disbursement.
“All these interventions are part of efforts being made by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to create employment, banish hunger and boost food security,” she added.
The president expressed the hope that food scarcity and sky – rocketing prices of foodstuffs would soon be a thing of the past, and called on registered farmers and other groups involved in the agro-allied value chain to open accounts with the Bank of Agriculture to be able to access the loan.
“Our major focus is on youths, women, adults and the underprivileged that are able,” she explained, adding that an Agro-Allied Industrial University of Technology is to be established in Ilu Ajerowaye, AfinAkoko, Ondo State.
