The federal government of Nigeria has kick-started the disbursement of the 550 million Naira ($4 million) Millennium Development Goal (MDG) component of the Animal Traction and Handtools Technology loans scheme in Imo state.
Before the presentation to the 21 beneficiaries, Adamu Bello, minister of agriculture, explained that the scheme was designed to provide credit facilities to rural farmers to acquire small farming technology, relieve farmers of drudgery and hardship associated with the use of traditional tools and improve their incomes.
He stated that a study conducted by Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) on agricultural mechanisation in the Sub-Sahara Africa showed that only one per cent of farm power was provided by mechanical means, 10 per cent was powered by animals, and 89 per cent from human labour.
The minister argued that there was a great potential for improvement now because government has put in place a complementary programme to promote the use of hand tools for those parts of the country where the use of draught animal power was not feasible due to environmental factors.
The minister urged beneficiaries of the loans to put the money into its intended purposes to enable them to produce more food and enhance their family income. He said they are expected to pay back the loans when due to enable other farmers to benefit from the scheme.
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May 07, 2007
Nigeria begins distribution of mechanization loans to farmers
Categories capacity building, development, mechanization, Nigeria, productivity
