FG To Increase Agriculture Fund Access With 20,000 Registered Cooperative Societies By 2014 As part of the measures employed to drive agricultural advancement and increased productivity through access to credit facilities by farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture has set a target of 20,000 cooperative societies to be programmed into the Ministry of Agriculture’s database as against the current 17,000 registered. This was disclosed by the Minister of State, Mrs. Asabe Ahmed who represented the Minister of Agriculture – Dr. Akinwumi Adesina at the recently held 5th National Council on Cooperative Affairs with the theme: “Building an Enduring Cooperative Movement for Sustainable Growth,” in Abuja. According to Mrs. Ahmed, the cooperative data analysis system of the Ministry of Agriculture was set-up to drive self-reliance, competition and progression of the cooperative societies as well as enable tracking of their individual performances and respective needs so that the appropriate assistance can be given to those that require help. Speaking on the importance of cooperative societies, she noted that they are potential tools for empowerment and job/wealth creation, particularly for rural people who need a lot of support, adding that the world’s top 300 cooperatives are reputed to have an annual turnover of $2.2 trillion. The minister further urged the cooperatives to educate their members on the process of due diligence standards required for eligibility to access funds, stating that the apex federation was also complementing the efforts of the Ministry to significantly improve on current low access of agricultural credit from financial service providers by agric cooperatives and farmer groups. The conference which held at the National Cooperative Development Centre, had in attendance key stakeholders in the Cooperatives Community with the aim to revise the National Cooperative Policy of Nigeria as well as propose an amendment to the Cooperative Societies Act (the existing Law governing cooperative activities in the country).
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 10:53:39 +0000
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