* Depositors Demand Interest
The dream of Federal
Government to reduce the post-harvest loses by the establishment of cottage
processing centres across the nation since year 2013 may have been stalled by
the Bank of Industry (BOI), as processor depositors of Five Hundred Thousand Naira
(N500.000.00) have alleged the bank of non-compliance to the Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between her and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development (FMARD), just as they have demanded for the interest on their money
from the date of deposit.
This revelation came up at the recently
concluded 2nd investors’ meeting and workshop organized by the FMARD
at the Institute for Agricultural Research and Training ( IAR&T),
Moorplantaion, Ibadan where the beneficiaries have demanded interest from BOI,
being loan deposited to benefit from the N10 million loan-grant initiated by
the FMARD at the single digit towards owing a modern cottage processing centre
for value addition.
The
cottage industry, initiated during the tenure of Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina to
address farmers’ challenges on wastages and marketing through processors off
taker for value addition that would attract more local and international
markets, thereby creating job and wealth for the youths at rural areas, as the
aim is to position agriculture as business with the use of small cottage
processing factories of N10m payable loan within 5yrs at single digit of 8%,
and grant of 45% component.
But the non-compliance of the BOI to
MOU conditions according to the beneficiaries has stalled work on the project
site as they claimed that money were not released to execute the completion as
being envisaged.
Pastor Taiwo Oluwasegun, the General
Secretary (SG) of the Cassava Cottage Processing and Marketing Association
disclosed to us that his association has enjoyed the support of FMARD through
equipment availability at a subsidized amount to help the beneficiaries to
achieve more, even without the help of the BOI.
The CACPMA general secretary said that
the commitment/ equity fee of N500, 000.00 paid by every beneficiary to fast
track the collection of 9.5million from the BOI has lingered for the period of
five years, without payment or refund from the bank as many contractors have
stopped executing the project at hand because there was no more fund to finish,
noted that the BOI needs to repackage itself to meet up building a better
cottage processing industry as signed in the MOU with the ministry.
Another beneficiary from Abia state,
Mr. Nwanevu Christopher said that the cottage crops processing factory
programme’s objective is to advance local standard products for global market
and to overcome rejection by the other countries, saying standardization of
processed agricultural crops would break the barriers of trade limitation,
while he added that the 28 factories that was supposed to have been developed
for the period of four years have been delayed more than expected due to the
refusal of the BOI to release fund.
In his response, the BOI official, Mr.
Mike Oye identified the issues affecting the expansion of the cottage industry
as self-made as there are cases of many complaints from the beneficiaries to
the bank, stating that his bank has been acting on the instruction of the
ministry.
The south west regional director, Mrs.
C A Awe, while reading the Permanent Secretary’s address restated that the
present administration was determined to achieve the cottage crop processing industry
saying that the ongoing increase in production needs to be matched with better
processing facilities to prevent wastage and ensure a pass of any market test.
She however urged the cottage crops
processing factory owners to become more visible as a business group that would
be well supported by government policy towards grassroot empowerment to
boosting national economic growth with job creation, increase in the gross
domestic product with 70 percent of the rural people being active in the formal
and informal activites, and a 50% post-harvest reduction occasioned by poor
handling from processing, packaging, storage and transportation.
Food Farm
News gathered that FMARD is already strategizing
effective method aimed towards achieving the success of the cottage industry in
cassava, oil palm, rice and other crops in the value chains towards products
quality/standard vigorously, market exploitation (local and international) for
economic power creation in the country as government is urged to put more money
in the Bank of Industry (BOI) for people to get more benefits.
The representative of Deputy Director, Federal
Department of Agriculture (FDA) irrigation and crop development division, Engr.
A. Ageh reiterated Ministry’s passion to checkmating post-harvest loses of farmers,
and making sure an effective policy to ensure standard processed agricultural
foods are made available for further processing to off takers, adding there is
need for this effort to be complemented by fund availability from BOI so that
the collaboration will not suffer as a result of lack of fund.
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