Some 3,000 youths and women beneficiaries of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) agricultural loan scheme in Bayelsa on Thursday commenced entrepreneurship training.

The programme, under the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS), is targeted at rice, cassava and fish farmers selected from eight local government areas across Bayelsa.

Speaking at the event, the state Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr. David Alagoa, urged the beneficiaries of the scheme to explore opportunities in the various value chains beyond core farming areas.

Alagoa, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Mr Mightyman Dikuro, noted that the scheme is aimed at boosting food production in the state by guaranteeing the loan for the beneficiaries.

He explained that the scheme was designed to discourage direct disbursement of cash to beneficiaries as the farming input component of the loan would be supplied to the farmers through their cluster groups.

Also addressing the beneficiaries during the training, Mr. Stanley Oruseigha, Head of Development Finance at the CBN in Yenagoa advised them to refrain from diverting the cash component of the loan.

He explained that given the projected yield from rice cultivation an hectare of land would yield more than 35 bags of processed 50 kg bags which could fetch in excess of N700,000 which is far greater than the total loan sum for each beneficiary.

He said that it made economic sense for the farmers to engage in the rice farming with a gestation period of three months.

It will be recalled that Gov Douye Diri of Bayelsa on Nov 11 obtained approval of the Bayelsa House of Assembly to borrow N17bn from various sources, N10bn of the N17bn from the CBN is dedicated to Agriculture.

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