Nigeria (Blank NEWS Online) –
DESPITE the downturn in the economy, the Delta State government has disbursed a total of N101 million naira loans to 1000 persons in 101 cooperative groups under the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development fund.
Handing out the cheques to the representatives of the cooperative societies, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa urged the beneficiaries to take responsibility for their success or failure as they were all chosen on merit.
He informed the beneficiaries that the loan was meant to enable them improve their businesses and create wealth for themselves.
He disclosed that the sum of Four Hundred and Thirty-Five Million, One Hundred And Eighty Thousand Naira (N435, 180, 000) was disbursed last year to 2, 617 persons while One Hundred and One Million Naira (N101, 000, 000) was disbursed yesterday to 1, 000 persons drawn from the twenty-five local government areas of the state under the CBN Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund.
He admonished the beneficiaries to “use the money wisely on the business and as members of cooperatives societies, it means you share similar idea and with cooperation, your business will grow fast.”
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller of CBN in the state, Dame Edith Agu, commended the disbursement.
Chairman of the Delta State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, Chief Suru Salami stated that the programme was designed to address poverty and the problem of unemployment, asserting, “all beneficiaries should make prudent use of the fund to enable them pay back as at when due because, the Agency is poised to recover all borrowed money.”
In another development, Governor OIowa, also on Thursday inaugurated a 16-man Agricultural Marketing Coordination Committee (AMCC) saying the agricultural sector deserves to be reformed.
Speaking during the inauguration of the Committee which has the state Chief Job Creation Officer, Prof. Eric Eboh as Chairman, Governor Okowa said that the committee was “to develop the agricultural sector in line with our stated objectives of economic diversification, food security, self-reliance and prosperity for all.”
“This is in consonance with our electoral promise to reform the agricultural sector for the purposes of wealth creation, boosting employment, achieving value addition and sustainable economic growth,” Governor Okowa said, adding, “we have invested substantial resources, personnel, time and energy to stimulate agricultural production through the Production and Processing Support Programme (PPSP) and we must do much more than boost the yields from the agricultural sector.”
The AMCC, Governor Okowa said would “tackle the marketing challenges faced by farmers in Delta State and help farmers worry less about finding suitable markets for their produce, while ensuring that they prosper from the work of their hands, thereby make farming attractive once again.”
The Committee has as terms of reference: “identify existing and potential markets for agricultural produce and device measures and arrangements for farmers to access those markets; obtain and disseminate market information to agricultural producers and thereby improve information flow between farmers and processors.”
Governor Okowa reiterated that the Committee would also, “proffer measures for establishing and improving market infrastructure and facilities such as warehouses, cold storage, output aggregation and processing centres; identify and coordinate actionable measures to encourage market-oriented production by farmers; collaborate with national and international agencies in fostering linkages between farmers and markets;” among other terms of reference.
Prof. Eboh at the occasion, observed that the committee has a lot of work to do and thanked Governor Okowa for deeming them fit to be members of the committee which he observed would work towards food security`.
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