Abia monarch seeks agric loan commission
- Civil servants, artisans, others relocate to villages
By OnwukweEzeru (Umuahia)
andOyeChukwujekwu (Asaba)
Many residents of Umuahia, including civil servants and artisans, are relocating to villages; some to reduce living costs, others to produce food for consumption and sale to survive the difficult economic times.
Nigeria has long paid lip service to agriculture as there is no meaningful action to retain interest in farming and the economy has gone from bad to worse because of over dependence on oil.
Delta State Bank of Agriculture boss, Ambrose Nwabuzo, who made the point in Asaba, explained, however, that the federal government has begun giving loans to real farmers and ensuring politicians do not hijack the scheme.
He enthused that the fund, disbursed through the Central Bank of Nigeria (NBC), will get to farmers without people taking agricultural loans as their own slice of the national cake.
He disclosed that for over 20 years some beneficiaries have not redeemed loans collected from the Delta State branch of the Bank of Agriculture.
Accessing agric loan
Nwabuzo warned that some farmers will not benefit from the current programme, which has improved rice production in Kebbi State and has encouraged Delta to join to alleviate poverty.
He said the loan will be disbursedthrough cooperative society, paid direct to the bank accounts of farmers.
A monitoring team will verify every farm to ensure beneficiaries do not divert the fund for other purposes.
The bank will provide inputs,seedlings,chemicals for treatment, fertilizers, and arrange for off takers to buy produce from farmers.
It will keep a database of beneficiaries and farmers have to register with the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture.
An awareness campaign is going on and applications are being verified to avert multiple registration by an individual.
Nwabuzo said steps have been taken to ensure the bank recoversloans and urged the government to create an enabling environment and provide an insurance scheme for farmers.
He pleaded with old beneficiaries to repay loans asthis is the only way to get out of the crisis caused by the fall in oil price and put food on the table for all Nigerians.
CBN Head of Finance Development in Asaba, Badeki Mathew, lamented that Nigeria “exports what it does not have and imports what it has”, which leads to high inflation.
He urged the youth to go into agriculture to tackle unemployment.
Agric loan commission
In Abia State, the traditional ruler of Ibeku,James Akwukwaegbu, urged Abuja to set up a commission to handle agricultural loan from the CBN.
He said channelling agricultural loan through governors to farmers should be discouraged because governors use the fund for party patronageand to settle relatives and friends who are not farmers.
To him, a commission would manage the fund better than governors, pleading that agriculture, the mainstay of the economy in the past, should not be allowed to die.
“Nigerians should go back to the farm and depend less on crude oil that will one day dry up,” Akwukwaegbu advised.
Back to the village
James Uchegbuo, the president general of AhuwaOboro in Abia State, also chipped in, urging President MuhammaduBuhari to take drastic measures to stabilise the economy.
The advice comes against the backdrop of the rise in urban-rural migration nationwide, caused by economic hardship.
Some families in Umuahia have been forced to relocate to rural areas, going to their villages or to less expensive parts of town, conveyed in several lorryloads.
Recently on Ohobo Road along Olokoro Way (Umuahia South), a couple packedtheir belongings into a Mitsubishi lorry while their kids folded their arms, disillusioned by their parents’ decision to take them to the village.
Another family packed out of a building on Azikiwe Road, opposite Umuahia Township Stadium.
The situation is pronounced in Ohafia/Arochukwu Park, beside Umuahia North Council headquarters, where the number of families travelling to rural areas with heavy luggage has increased.
A civil servant, CalistusOnyemere, told TheNichehe decided to return to his home town because he could not afford the rent onAgbama Housing Estate, Umuahia.
He said he agreed with his wife to use their salaries to renovate his home in the village and use the balance to pay the children’s school fees.
His words: “I find it hard to feed these my children properly, so it is better to find them a good but affordable school. I thank God that I have a three-bedroom house in my father’s compound at Olokoro.
“I will rent out one and use the other two for my family.I will now spend small money on transportation to and from Umuahia.”
Another relocator,ChikezieOkoronkwo, an artisan from Ozuitem, said he plans to go into agriculture.
A landlord at Low Cost Housing Estate, Umuahia, HaborUwaegbulam lamented that most tenants have not paid their rent for several months.
He said two rooms vacated by tenants remain unoccupied and appealed to the government at all levels to reduce the hardship of people to prevent a revolution.
However, observers believe that urban-rural migrationcould help improve the economy of local communities.
