The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) has urged Ebonyi farmers to be financial literate in order to improve their businesses.
Rural Institution Gender and Youth Development Officer (RIGYMO) of IFAD-VCDP Mr Musa Talang gave the advice on Monday at Ikwo LGA of Ebonyi state during a one-day sensitisation training for farmers of financial
literacy.
Talang said IFAD-VCDP organised the training in realisation of the importance of finance in farmers’ activities and the need for
literacy in their transactions
“Farmers should know when they are making profits or losses in their businesses right from land preparation to production, processing and
marketing stages.
“Farmers should know how to engage financial institutions in accessing credits; ie how to calculate interest rates in order not be cheated,” he said.
He urged farmers to always be aware that their equipment and facilities would depreciate and should start planning early on how to
maintain or replace them.
“IFAD-VCDP realises that the programme’s lifespan will end one day and we strive to develop the farmers’ capacities to sustain their business without our interventions.
IFAD-VCDP State Programme Coordinator (SPC) Mr Sunday Ituma encouraged farmers to obtain insurance policies to check unforeseen
events in their farming activities.
“The earlier farmers see this step as a necessary investment for their cropping activities, the better for them.
“When a farmer applies two or three percent of his loan package, the insurance company will offset the cost of damages in case of
eventualities,” he said.
He noted that IFAD-VCDP has demonstrated this assertion with its involvement with the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation
(NAIC) which settled costs of damages incurred by farmers over floods on their farmlands.
“Those who are living in flood prone areas and are anticipating flooding during farming seasons would have the insurance companies
taking care of their worries,” he said.
Mr Michael Marx, an International Consultant with IFAD-VCDP and resource person at the training urged farmers to stop accepting flat
rates from banks when accessing loans for their farming activites.
“These are mostly charges by micro finance institutions and are charged irrespective of amounts already repaid by the borrower.
“It increases per unit rate of farmers, leads to higher interest rates as farmers should insist on calculation of rates on declining balance,” he said.
IFAD-VCDP RIGMO Officer in Ebonyi, Mrs Fransisca Anya, stated that lead farmers in the training would in-turn train other farmers in their localities.
A Participant at the training Mrs Chika Unah thanked IFAD—VCDP for providing such opportunity to learn the advantages of financial literacy for farmers and promised to effectively utilise the garnered
knowledge.
