Prof Danbala Danju (BoA) seeks more Funding, Repositioning of Agric Sector

The Managing Director, Bank of Agriculture (BoA), Prof. Danbala Danju, on Monday called for the repositioning and funding of the agriculture sector to boost food production in the country.

Danju said  in Abuja that he hoped the Federal Government would inject more funds in to the Bank of Agriculture for farmers to access.

“We hope that President Muhammadu Buhari would strongly support the agriculture sector, especially by injecting more funds into the Bank of Agriculture (BoA).

“This will enable the bank widen its operational reach, particularly to the rural areas.

“The bank was created by the government to help in the development of agriculture in the country and so, if given more support, we would advance the course of farmers in Nigeria,” he said.

He said agriculture was a key sector for the government of Nigeria and indeed for governments in Africa because majority of the population were into agriculture.

“If we are to transform the lives of people, there is the need to inject more funds into the sector. Our bank seems to be in a good position to partner with the government to transform agriculture for the betterment of the life of the people,” Danju said.

He added that the BoA could be repositioned to be one of the leading banks, not only in the country but also in Africa.

The BoA managing director said the bank was central to promoting youth employment, diversification of the economy and generally uplifting the life of the vast majority of the people.

He stressed the need to prioritise agriculture above the oil sector so as to not only feed Nigerians but also to earn more income for the country.

“Agriculture should be given its desired position in the scheme of things. This is the right moment that with the fall in the price of oil, agriculture should be given greater priority.

“This involves essentially channelling resources from the right sources to ensure that we are able to support the farmers, who lack inputs and technology,” Danju said.

In a separate interview, the BoA Board Chairman, Dr Adamu Aliyu, said the bank was partnering with the African Development Bank (AfDB) in terms of “providing additional capital” for the bank.

“We believe this a very good omen for the agriculture sector in Nigeria,” he said.

Aliyu said the step taken to partner AfDB was due to the fact that it provides loans at much cheaper rate than commercial banks.

“We believe accessing their facility will enable us lend money to farmers at much cheaper interest rate which is currently about 14 per cent. If we can access funds that are cheaper, give it to farmers at a single digit, possibly the lower single digit, it will enhance agriculture production,” he said.

Aliyu said the objective of BoA was to make itself self-sustaining without recourse to the government all the time.

He added that, however, it could not eliminate support from the government, being a developing country.

“But our long term objective is to make the bank stand on its own to be able to raise capital from the capital market to fund agriculture,” the Board chairman said.