NAN-AE-16
Poverty
Eruwa (Oyo State), Oct. 20, 2016 (NAN) The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), says plans are underway to increase Bank of Agriculture Rural Business Initiative (BOARBI) branches in states to three.
The Country Manager of IFAD, Ms Atsuko Toda, said this on Thursday in Eruwa, Ibarapa East Local Government Area, Oyo State, during an inspection tour of sponsored projects in the area.
Toda, who visited the BOARBI office in Eruwa, said that the idea was to expand its scope of operation.
He said that IFAD financed Rural Finance Institute Building Programme (RUFIN) was geared to eradicate poverty in rural areas.
The country manager said the report by Mrs Olufunke Ojo, Head of the BOARBI Centre, Eruwa, had shown that women in the community had embraced the programme and were benefitting from it.
She said that in order to touch many more lives, IFAD would strive to increase to three the numbers of BOARBI office in each state.
Toda, however, charged BOARBI officials to ensure that the Rural Business Plan was effectively implemented and comprehensive data of the RUFIN groups in the area were provided.
This, he said, was necessary to enable disbursement of loans to beneficiaries.
Earlier, Ojo said that BOARBI was specifically targeted at rural women, adding that the programme started in Eruwa in May 2015.
She said that the bank covers Ibarapa East, Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North, which comprises of seven villages and 21 communities.
Ojo said that the major challenge of the bank was funding as it had since its inception received only N2 million from the Bank of Agriculture (BOA).
According to her, N8.7 million had so far been disbursed to members of 35 groups and recorded zero default on loans repayment by beneficiaries.
Ojo appealed to IFAD to provide N10 million seed fund to enable the bank sustain its operation and positively impact on the lives of rural dwellers.
The inspection team visited Temidire village where it inspected some of the projects undertaken by its loan beneficiaries including harvested crops.
The Ibarapa East Local Government Chairman, Mr Adelore Atanda, commended IFAD/RUFIN for touching the lives of the rural dwellers and implored the body to extend the programme beyond 2017.
Also on the IFAD team was Mr Liam Francis Chicca, the Special adviser to the IFAD President, Mr Kanayo Nwanze (NAN)
AOS/DE/OJO
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(Edited by Mufutau Ojo)