Introduction
Financial power is one crucial advantage that is important in the various aspects of life’s activities. There is no activity or venture today that does not to some extent require money to be made successful. Think of it, the governments, businesses, schools, hospitals, they all need money. Even successful ventures need more money to be made more successful.
The problem however, is that many do not have financial power or the necessary access to funds to achieve their goals and targets. Africa is the world’s poorest continent as it where and obviously, many of its peoples have little or no access to any sort of financial help.
One place where this is very visible is in the agricultural sector, and sadly, this is the sector that has the potential to lift the most people out of poverty. The Nigerian situation will be examined more closely to analyze the situation and see if there are means to accessing funds for agriculture in the country.
Agricultural Challenges In Nigeria
To be fair, asides funding, there are other challenges facing farmers in Nigeria. Various analyses point to the fact that the challenges faced by the Nigerian farmer can be categorized into five (5) which are:
- The fact that modernized and mechanized farming is not majorly being practiced in the country rather, outdated tools are still being used to farm in Nigeria.
- The lack of proper information on the opportunities that do come from time to time and a further lack of education on modern farming methods.
- The poor systems plus a lack of the necessary facilities that can help boost agricultural practice in the country.
- The inadequate or lack of research to improve farming processes plus the lack of records to enable the tracking of the various agricultural activities that might be ongoing.
- The lack of the financial capacity by farmers to improve their farming capacities.
You can read more of these in details at https://www.commodity-port.com/five-major-problems-facing-agriculture-in-nigeria/ .
Is The Lack Of Access To Funds Key?
A closer look at the challenges enumerated above leads me to the conclusion that lack of access to funding and lack of information on new developments are the primary issues here hence the topic.
The reason for this conclusion is simple; it takes one who is aware of an opportunity and has access to funds to support the pursuit of the said opportunity to go after the said available opportunity. Thus, if people are aware of places where funding can be obtained to better their agricultural endeavors many would at least try their luck.
Are Such Places Available In Nigeria?
The simple answer to this question is yes. The problem though is that while some may not be aware of it, the others who are aware do not trust the systems or institutions that are giving out such funds. Some of such places include:
The Bank Of Agriculture
This is the primary source through which the provides grants and loans to farmers in the country. This is a bank owned by the federal government and has as its shareholders the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Finance.
Commercial Banks
These include all the various commercial banks that function in the country. Examples are; Guarantee Trust (GT) bank, Zenith bank, First bank etc. they all are sources where both individuals and cooperatives can get funding’s for their agricultural ventures. It has to be pointed out though their requirements are usually very stringent and many avoid sourcing funds through them.
Agricultural Co-operatives
Getting funds through agricultural co-operatives is probably the most adopted means of getting credit for small holder farmers. This is because the farmers as members of these co-operatives are able to pull together resources to help themselves in their various endeavors. It is also a means through which they are able to increase their bargaining power both in the agricultural market or when acquiring loans from commercial banks. However, there are limits to which these practices can go as it can only help them facilitate their businesses but cannot really help them make significant increments in their ventures.
The Bank Of Industry
This is a bank committed to the development of the various industries in the country. It is also the largest and the oldest finance institution that is functioning currently in the country. It is able to provide funds for projects and fund them from the production level all the way through to the processing level. Their repayment terms are also quite comfortable for the borrower.
What To Know About Accessing Agric Loans In Nigeria
Before you can access agricultural loans in the country, the following are certain things that you should know.
- What type of agricultural ventures have access to the available agric loans as not all of them do.
- Visit the Bank Of Agriculture (BOA) in your state to know what the requirements are and how to go about it.
- Asides the BOA, find out what other arrangements that other banks or institutions have that might be of use or benefit to you or you can also visit their various websites or go to this site.
Conclusion
Money is one crucial factor that cannot be done without in most areas of human life. No matter how beautiful or visionary your plan or idea is, it requires funding to be executed. Sadly, money is not easy to come by.
This is true for agricultural ventures too. If one is to engage productively and significantly in agriculture, one needs to have strong financial capital to do this. Luckily, there are institutions in Nigeria where funds can be accessed for these ventures.
