By Fatima Muraina

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Stakeholders in Ondo State have expressed their readiness to float an Agricultural Micro Finance Bank to fill the funding gap in agriculture and agricbusiness in the state.
The stakeholders, farmers, interested members of the public and other would be share holders met yesterday at the state Printing Press in Alagbaka, Akure to determine individuals commitment towards the realisation of establishing the bank.
Speaking at the occasion, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agric and agricbusiness, Mr Akin Olotu said the Governor had given the approval with the commitment of N20million as capital base but the amount later increased to N200million by the Central Bank of Nigeria which delayed the commencement during the first tenure of Mr governor.
He said the intention of floating the bank came as a result of inability of farmers to access fund through the commercial banks who mostly divert such funds to traders.
He said strategic people are involved to disseminated the information back to their respective designations to assure people that they can invest in the bank.
Olotu who noted that traditional chiefs were invited to reach out to people in their domains said ” I see a bank that will have the largest number of customers within a year at least 1,000 farmers per local government which will give about 18,000 million across the state which looks at about 1.8billion.”
During the technical session, Olotu stressed that the minimum of establishing the micro finance at the urban center attracts 200million while at the rural area it attracts N50million while there is need to put a committee in place to handle the documentation at the CBN.
A consultant, Dr. Patrick Tolani who promised to collaborate with farmers to establish the micro finance bank advised farmers on what he described as rolling out sleep as he urged them to talk to others to ensure the bank’s commencement
He said serious farmers should go into large scale farming and to form themselves into clusters and not farming in isolated place explaining that real farmers needed come together to start their own bank in braking through the agricultural business.
Mr Olayato Aribo, the Managing Director of Mick Mackins Nigeria Limited noted that farmers establishing their own bank would mean putting their destiny in their own hands so that they can have money at the right time at a good price and to do what they need to do and that the bank is also another form of business.
A Fish Farmer, Mr Kayode Esho described the initiation as a good and laudable one if it comes to being but that consideration be out on how it could get to intending farmers and the real serious farmers.
Also, the Odole of Akure Kingdom, Chief Abiodun Fred Adejo in his good will message encouraged people to invest in the bank saying that people will come back to smile because the process will be transparent as it deals with everybody.
The Chairman of Ondo State Agricultural Commodity Associations OSACA, Mr Gbenga Obaweya expressed farmers’ belief in the vision that it will come to reality as he urged farmers and other stake holders to key to the programme.