The government of Nigeria’s Osun state has begun the roll out of debit cards to farmers, as part of a wider support programme aimed at promoting “agriculture based prosperity”.
The debit cards are intended to ensure farmers have direct and easy access to farming inputs such as seedlings, pesticides and fertilisers.
The first cards were distributed at the inauguration of the Farmers’ Input and Credit Support Programme in Aisu, Ede by state governor Rauf Aregbesola, who said the cards would remove the heavy burden of loans currently facing farmers in the region.
“We came up with the aid scheme in order to correct all the anomalies that are inherent in the extant system of agricultural input distribution, while the Credit Support Programme is meant to boost the capacity of stakeholders to play their roles properly towards the development and modernisation of agriculture,” Aregbesola said.
“We are convinced that there is immense potential in agriculture for job creation, wealth generation, food security and poverty eradication,” he said.
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