Plateau farmers raise N57m to establish microfinance bank

Mr. Gideon Dadam, the State Coordinator of Fadama III said in Jos recently that the farmers had raised the money by contributing five percent of their interests. He explained that, “Fadama III has planned what we call a sustainability arrangement. The programme will come to an end eventually, but we want to see how farmers […]

Mr. Gideon Dadam, the State Coordinator of Fadama III said in Jos recently that the farmers had raised the money by contributing five percent of their interests. He explained that, “Fadama III has planned what we call a sustainability arrangement. The programme will come to an end eventually, but we want to see how farmers can keep faith with the project.
“From the day this programme started they have been saving and presently we have about N57 million with contributions still being expected,” he said.
The coordinator stated that the main purpose of the bank was to help the Fadama farmers get soft loans with one digit interest while expressing optimism that the bank will commence operation within the next two months.
Mr. Dadam said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Plateau State government were expected to give them the go-ahead to operate the Fadama Microfinance Bank.
“The state government will provide the space where the bank will be housed and professionals will be employed to manage the bank on behalf of the farmers,” he said.