Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Farmers who are beneficiaries of the Anchor Borrowers programmes for the 2020 wet season and members of the Maize Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (MAGPAMAN) have been assured of a smooth account opening and loan processing by Ecobank Nigeria.
A statement from the lender said the farmers do not need to panic as it was committed and will make sure all beneficiaries get the loans.
According to Ecobank, farmers’ accounts have been opened across the 36 states based on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prequalification for account opening for farmers.
It noted that KYC regularization can be done simply visiting a nearby Ecobank branch or input collection centre with two passport photograph to execute the account opening documents.
In an earlier statement, Ecobank had stated that over 70,000 farmers are earmarked to benefit from the loan scheme which is done in partnership with the CBN.
According to the Ecobank’s Head of Agribusiness, Mrs Mojisola Oguntoyinbo, the initiative spreads across the 36 states and is one of the several concerted efforts on the part of the bank to support the government to create an ecosystem that gives smallholder farmers access to funding and the required support to increase food production in the country.
She stated that the scheme was designed to connect smallholder farmers with processors and off-takers within the agriculture value chain.
The banker reiterated that Ecobank is actively leveraging entrepreneurship as a strategy to tackle poverty and growing unemployment, through the creation of relevant platforms, which includes the Xpress Point, which is the bank’s agency banking proposition that enables agents to carry out financial transactions on behalf of Ecobank and earn commission on transactions processed.
