As part of the continued drive of the Federal Government to harness the potentials that abound in the agricultural sector, the Nigeria Export and Import Bank, NEXIM, has revealed plans to make funding available to players in the cocoa value chain to boost productivity.
Disclosing this recently in Akure, the Ondo State capital, Stella Okotete, executive director – business promotion, NEXIM, at a stakeholders’ forum tagged ‘Nigerian Cocoa and the World,’ posited that the bank’s intervention through single-digit interest rate funding to cocoa farmers and investors was to ensure that the produce met international market standards.
According to Okotete, the interaction would enable stakeholders to brainstorm on the challenges of cocoa production and as well exchange ideas on possible solution for the benefits of not only those within the value chain but also for the country at large.
“We are currently availing funds to cocoa processors and producers in the entire value chain at a single-digit interest rate. Currently, we are one of the TFIs that have the lowest interest rate in terms of financing,” she said.
“The stakeholders’ interactive session in Akure is actually to address the challenges that cocoa farmers as well as producers and processors are having and we believe that from this interaction we would be able to gain more in-depth knowledge of their challenges and proffer solutions,” she added.
Okotete who stated that NEXIM had been identifying ways of ensuring that loan seekers were not discouraged with the rigours and bottlenecks of securing loans in the country, noted that the plan to accept moveable assets was being looked into.
She added that at the last stakeholders’ engagement NEXIM had in 2017, the bank was able to identify some of the major challenges that women and youth experience, and to address them, the bank introduced the Women and Youth Export facility.
“In this product, we are willing and we have the board approvals to accept collateral registry certificate to form part of the collaterals which we are going to take into cognisance as moveable assets.
“When we came in 2017, we actually didn’t have cocoa exporters in our books, as at today we have been able to disburse nothing less than N10 billion to cocoa exporters and we are currently processing another N10 billion. We are hopeful to have more applications from cocoa farmers to access our single-digit interest rate of 9percent.”
Lauding the move by NEXIM at coming to the rescue of cocoa producers and processors, , Gboyega Adefarati, the Ondo State commissioner for Agriculture stated that the global market for the produce is a huge one, which he said was growing at the average of 30percent per annum and must be optimised for the benefits of all.
While reeling out the potentials of Ondo State as the largest producer of cocoa in the country, Adefarati maintained that, Nigerian cocoa is currently experiencing low and declining yields due to inconsistent production patterns, insect pests and disease attack, age of farmers and farms, land tenure system and weak linkage between producers and exporters.
“In order to tackle this challenge and promote synergy between cocoa farmers and processors, the sector must be rid of bad eggs adopting sharp practices to destroy the prestige of the country among producing countries,” he said.
However, one of the stakeholders at the forum, Alex Ajipe, chairman of Klick Connect, admonished that efforts must be made to first identify the factors affecting the decline and lack of interest in cocoa production before embarking on exportation.
YOMI AYELESO, Akure
