As part of efforts to encourage all round participation in agriculture, the federal government has introduced the “Invent your Future “scheme.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh at the News Agency of Nigeria forum, in Abuja.
Ogbeh informed that the scheme would provide the opportunity for all categories of public or civil servants and private individuals to invest in agriculture.
“There’s a scheme we are advertising soon called `Invent your Future’, are you in the civil service, in the military; a young person or a journalist; if you have a piece of land, then, plant some trees and we will show you how to do it,’’ he said.
Ogbeh added that the Federal Government would soon establish massive coconut plantations in Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers states to extract coconut oil for industrial purposes.
Speaking on finance, the minister reiterated Federal government’s commitment to restructure the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to facilitate farmers’ access to loans while also encouraging youth participation in the sector.
“Once we restructure the Bank of Agric, the interest rate will not exceed seven per cent, I am pushing for five. The average rate worldwide is three per cent; it is only in Nigeria we are doing 18 to 25 per cent”, he said.
He however assured youths that the government was working to ensure that they received all the support needed to succeed in agriculture and agribusiness.
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