Sterling Bank Targets Agriculture lnvestment Growth through Summit

An Agricultural Summit to converge investors for the holistic and expansive growth of Africa’s agricultural sector is set to be facilitated by Sterling Bank.

Group Head, Agriculture Finance and Solid Minerals, Sterling Bank, Mrs Bukola Awosanya, announcing the Africa Agric Summit in Lagos yesterday, stated that food security is the key to every economy.

She said following the World Bank’s Report on a 1 Trillion Dollar food market by 2030, the bank is bringing in structures, stakeholders to discuss the way to actuallise this in Nigeria.

The summit which is slated for Abuja on the 5th – 6th of September, runs with the theme “Agriculture – Your Piece of The Trillion-Dollar Economy”. “We have won awards through this scheme as a bank in contributing to agriculture in Nigeria.

This year, we are going to look at how to expand the agric business in the next coming years. We will be looking at the Research institutions, universities in Nigeria, know what they have been doing. “We are bringing in stakeholders to come together and move things forward, because if you don’t structure things, it will not move forward. “We are adopting a value chain system.

That is seeing it from the beginning to end.

“We give out 10 per cent loan portfolio to the finance of agriculture as our own contribution to the growth of the economy, making the industry competitive.” She also stated that agriculture provides 60 percent of employment for youths in Nigeria.

“We employ youths. Train them on what to do, where to plant and how to keep their funds as savings. “Last year, we brought farmers to show them how important it is to have a ranch. “We also know that without implementation we can’t achieve anything. We have partnered with Osun state governments for the construction of roads. The farmers needs good road to bring our his goods.

” We have also partnered with Kebbi state government to finance farmers plant rice, Ondo state poultry processing, Ogun State rice Mill, in Kaduna we have shown them how to go about their cows, their herdsmen. In fact, their wives came testifying that they have been able to send their children to school through this scheme.”

Also, the Executive Director, Corporate and lnvestment Banking, Yemi Odubiyi, said that Nigeria has environmental and food securities challenges. He added that Nigeria will not be able to tackle the challenges of this nation until we tackle food security. He also explained that Nigeria has advantage in technical Agriculture.

“We can export our production in West Africa not just to Europe. We want to bring in those days of farming back.” he stated.