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JUNE 10. 2012
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U mon Bank finances agriculture with N40bn IFFANYl ONURA
NlO" Bank of ,. igeria Pic, has said that its current portfolio on :tgricultural lending is abcut N40bn, adding that 0' er 60,000 rarmers have benefitted from its agriculture lending. The bank's Managing Director, Mr.. Funke Osibodu, said 'his dunng an intcrvlew al the sidelines of a sub - ~ional work.~hop or t Ie African Rural Ag.ricuh.1tml Credit Association in IJmja. The semina'-, with the theme -Enha Icing the agricultllral vllue chain through innOVl tion. ~ was aimed at trallSf lI"millg tbe agriculture ' "ll.hle chain. that Osibodu f aid lending to the j gricu1tural sector had bee. profitable and describe( as the driving foret' rOI th e bank's increased and O"lOSlstCllt lending to the l)Crttived
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'risky' sector. ~We have gi~D out so much. I would say we have givcn out about N30bn to N4obnon agriculture.. Thai is the current portfolio but we have been lending very actively to agricu1ture for close to 30 years. ""Ibe performance rate hasnotbeenbad.especiaUy forsmall .scale lending. We have a customer base of over 6o,0Q0 comparising farmers that we lelld to all O\'er Nigeria in different areas. We understand the
seasons.... Osibodu noted that the bank's plans currently was to mm"e beyond the small scale agricultural lending andfocusmorcoothelarge scale farmers. This, she notoo, would, create the needed chain of economic growth for tlm nation. She said the outcome of the workshop ....,ould enable banks to better stnlclure their credit facilities to
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financing had not been an attractive and profitable sector for the deployment ofshareholdersjdepositors fundsduetothepercephon of high risks. ¡We need 10 release financial resoun:es on a mstamable basis to Africa's agriculture. Union bank has beeq !>upporting agriculture intensively for years." She said the long term benefits of the value chain model would hclp to incn!aSepercapilal income, gcnerate employmcnt and develop the sector. Agriculture employs 60 per cent of the population. II also contributes up to 42 per cent of the country's GDP and about 75 percent of the non-oil sectorGDP. Osibodu said if wea1th creation and poverty reduction we~ 10 be achieved. there was need to adopt efficienl and cost effecti\"e financial services that supported agricultural production nnd innovation ncross the voluechnill.
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