N53 billion shared to Farmers in 2012 - BOI

The Bank of Industry in Nigeria says it disbursed a
total of 53 billion Naira (about 331.3 million dollars)
as loans to the agribusiness value chain in 2012, as
part of measures to boost agriculture.

The chairman of the shareholders committee of the
Bank of Industry, Mr Mohammed Dikwa, gave the
figure while presenting a review of the success and
challenges of the 2012 financial year at the bank’s
annual general meeting held in Abuja on Friday.

Mr Dikwa said another 333 million Naira was
disbursed to the creative industry, making the bank
achieve a 70 per cent improvement in the quality of
its risk assets.

The chairman of the shareholders committee listed
major interventions carried out by the bank in the
agriculture sector, small and medium enterprise
sector and the film industry.

Aside from the 70 per cent recorded improvement
in the quality of risk assets, the bank created over
one million jobs in 2012 up from 150,000 in 2011.

The bank officials promised not to relent in boosting
the businesses of entrepreneurs in 2013.
“You know you can only lend money to those who
can repay.  One of the things is that if a banker feels
that you don’t have access to market, no matter
how good your product is, it is very difficult to sell it
in the local community where there is limited
economic activity. So, we are trying to work with
the Nigerian Youth Service Core to ensure that most
of the agriculture produce coming out from rural
areas can be transported to urban areas where they
are needed to stimulate economic growth in the
rural area,” the Managing Director, Bank of Industry,
Evelyn Oputu, said .

With the feat recorded by the bank of industry
especially in the area the provision of loans to
owners of small and medium businesses, it is
expected that the bank’s intervention will result in
the socio-economic transformation of the country.

De Edge Farms