Olam Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s leading developer and possessor of agricultural produce, has invited the Makurdi, Benue State branch of First Bank, to finance the 9,000 farmers under Olam’s out-growers and extension programme. The initiative which is in collaboration with USAID-MARKETS culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the bank, last week in Makurdi.

The initiative to bring First Bank into financing the cultivation of rice under Olam’s out-growers programme, according to the company’s general manager, Mr. Regi George, came as a result of its commitment to move farmers away from subsistent to commercial farming.

The bank’s Makurdi branch manager, Mr. Victor Eraga who signed the MOU with Olam and its partner, USAID-MARKETS as well as the representative of the 9,000 farmer, said the bank is financing Olam’s farmers with N500 million and will commit more funds into the programme by next farming season. The manager who was accompanied by the bank’s products manager in Kaduna, M. K. Dalhat as well as the relationships manager (agric), Mr. Ishaku Azi said “Olam is doing a noble thing in its farmer support programme and we are interested in financing the farmers so they can move away from subsistent farming to mega farming”.

The managing director of USAID–MARKETS, Mr. Richard Cooks commended the partnership with First Bank and assured the bank that the Olam/USAID–MARKETS/First Bank/Benue farmers partnership was an initiative that will promote farming in the country.

The state’s commissioner of agriculture and natural resources, Mr. Benjamin Ashaver commended the initiative, reiterated the government’s commitment to continue to promote agricultural activities in the state.

Mr. Ashaver said government was happy with the loan and urged farmers to take the initiative as an advantage to improve on their yield. He also urged them to comply fully with the conditions given for the loan just as he sought the bank to relax its conditionality as farmers, according to him “are not that too rich to afford tough conditions”.

Speaking on behalf of the 9,000 farmers, Mrs. Dorcas Tar who is the chairperson of the 150 farmers cooperatives under Olam gave the assurance that the farmers would comply with the loan conditions. She also appealed for the relax of the conditions, saying “this are hard times for us farmers”.  

Also, over a hundred rice farmers who lost their farms to last year’s October floods in the state were given the total sum of N8 million as insurance claims from the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Cooperation (NAIC) at the event of the MOU signing ceremony at the Makurdi branch office of Olam.