Sterling Bank Plc said that its farmers’ radio will enhance smallholder farmers’ access to credit while broadening their skills. The bank initiated the 2021 edition of the Nigerian Farmers Radio, a Pan Nigerian agribusiness-related radio show to focus on product to region mapping, access to credit, and value chain focus. The program is broadcasted in Nigerian major languages which includes Pidgin English to meet diverse demographic needs.
The CEO of Sterling Bank, Abubaker Suleiman stated that “the 2021 edition of the programme make use of a product to region mapping and value chain focus in delivering useful content to ensure the effort of hardworking Nigerian farmers leads to success and food security for themselves, their community and the nation at large.”
He stated further that “radio is vital means of passing information across to those living in rural farming communities as over 90 % of those in the rural communities own at least one functional radio.”
Their remote location increases their risk of missing out on new opportunities such as the single-digit interest Sterling Women and Youth in Agriculture Finance (SWAY AgFin) solution for small to mid-scale agribusiness practitioners.
The Farmers’ Radio would address any challenge by bringing useful and relevant topics that will improve productivity to farmers. The topics for discussion would be region-specific with solutions proffered to address all challenges farmers are likely to encounter.
Farmers Radio tackles any challenge by introducing valuable and relevant topics to enhance farmers’ productivity. The topics to be discussed will be region-specific with solutions proffered to tackle all challenges farmers might encounter.
The group head, agric finance and solid minerals at Sterling Bank Bukola Awosanya said: “the program is initiated to make sure farmers who operate in remote locations reduce the risk of missing out on new opportunities like single-digit interest Sterling Women and Youths in Agriculture Finance (SWAY AgFin) solution developed and distributed in partnerships with MASTERCARD Foundation to assist in enhancing the profitability and output of agribusiness by ensuring capital is available entrepreneurs.”
The program is important because COVID 19 has caused adverse effects disrupting the sector by restricting output, and peoples’ access to nutritious and sufficient sources of food, and slowed down cash flow in the hands of farmers and food suppliers, preventing farmers from returning to farms on time.
She stated further that “For 2021, our approach will be to assess region-specific value chains to maximize impact, the value of the investment and deliver solutions tailored to the most active and valuable products in the region.”
The focus of the value chain for the Northeast and Northwest sub-regions will be maize, sesame, and rice with delivery language as Hausa while the focus in the southwest will be on Aquaculture, vegetables, poultry, and cassava among others and the delivery language is Yoruba.
“For the North Central sub-region, the value chain focus is poultry, soybeans, and cassava with while for Southeast and South-South, the value chain focus is aquaculture, palm oil, and cassava,” Awosanya said.
