The Ogun State Government has given N50 million to Ijebu Development Initiative on Poverty Reduction (IDIPR), Eriwe, in Odogbolu LGA as part of efforts to achieve food security through the development of agriculture and the fish sub-sector.
Presenting the cheque to the group in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Commissioner, Bolu Owotomo, said the fund would be repaid in 18 months, inclusive of a six-month moratorium at a single interest rate of nine per cent.
He explained that IDIPR was a private sector-driven organisation established in 1999, adding that the state government had disbursed a total N110m to the organisation since 2012 in different batches which the body repaid as at when due.
He said, “The group is a reputable organisation to alleviate poverty and improve livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable people in the state.”
The commissioner stressed that the state’s agricultural intervention was not only peculiar to the fish sub-sector, but the entire value chain.
He noted that about 1,000 metric tonnes of maize were recently released to the poultry sector at a stiff discount to reduce the cost of production.
Owotomo highlighted some of the achievements of the present administration to include reforms of agricultural land allocation to investors to enable them to have access to agricultural land, distribution of planting materials to 150 women cassava farmers in collaboration with the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), capacity building of 12,000 farmers on sustainable agriculture under the Value Chain Development Programme and constructive partnership with institutions and agricultural investors, among others.
In his remark, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Samuel Adeogun, admonished the group to make judicious use of the loan to make it the pride of other clusters.
Also speaking, the General Manager of IDIPR, Dr Adeniyi Marcus, commended the state government for the gesture, assuring that the group would live up to expectation by prudently making use of the loan.
