Oyo govt eases requirements for farmers to benefit SAfER loan

The Oyo State Government has taken steps to ease the guarantor’s requirements for the ongoing Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery SAfER/Agricultural Credit Corporation of Oyo State (ACCOS), scheme for farmers.

This, according to Taofeek Akeugbagold, Chairman, ACCOS, is being done in a bid to ensure more farmers in Oyo State have access to agricultural loan schemes.

Speaking with stakeholders in Ibadan recently, he said Governor Seyi Makinde had approved the inclusion of executives of farmer groups, to stand as guarantors to interested farmers seeking loans from the State Agricultural Credit Corporation.

“The development will allow executive members of the farmers’ association to stand as guarantors for their group members requesting that the SAfER/ACCOS Agric loan aligns with Governor Makinde’s commitment to supporting the agricultural sector in the State.

“We observed that most farmers were not able to access the #1b agric loan under the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) due to bureaucratic bottleneck of provision of civil servants working with the state government as guarantor, hence Governor Makinde to approve the inclusion of farmers groups’ executives to stand in for interested farmers in accessing the facilities; this, according to him, will remove the bottleneck of civil servant guarantorship, saying that this would enhance the productivity of farm product and by extension, enhance food security in the state and the country at large,” he said.

The chairman also emphasised that the change in the guarantor’s requirements would benefit farmers who may not know any civil servant, adding that it would allow executive members of Registered Farmers’ Associations to fulfil this role seamlessly.

Tunde Oladejo, the Coordinating Director of Agricultural Credit Corporation of Oyo State, in his welcome address, reminded previous beneficiaries of the SAfER/ACCOS loan to start repaying their loans to the respective disbursing banks.

He added that timely repayment is crucial to ensuring the sustainability of the loan scheme while also, allowing other farmers to benefit from the intervention.

Present at the meeting were the Chairman, of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Oyo State Chapter, Omikunle Omidokun; Vice Chairman, of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Oyo State Chapter, Muniru Oladayo; and Chairman, of Nigerian Cassava Growers Association, Oyo State Chapter, Basir Adesoyan, among others.