The Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank has invested N29 billion in over 500,000 agricultural projects across the country in the past seven years. Its Managing Director, Malam Usman Girei, disclosed this in Kaduna on Tuesday when he received members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, who visited the bank.

Girei told the committee members that the bank disbursed N25 billion to 566,443 farmers for projects during the period. He said that the bank also advanced N4 billion for other agricultural projects through other institutions.

He, however, said that in spite of these achievements, the bank received only N20 billion out of the N50 billion pledged by the Federal Government for its capitalisation. Girei stressed that the bank's loan scheme was tailored to favour small-scale farmers who constituted about 70 per cent of the beneficiaries.
"Apart from such financial facilities, the bank also engages in capacity building activities to fill the gaps in the preparation of the small-scale farmers,'' he said.

Girei said that other achievements of the bank included the creation of over six million employment opportunities, promoting improvement in the nation's agricultural productive base and food security.
"The bank's impact in opening up the rural economy and reducing the incidence of poverty at the grassroots are some of the achievements,'' he said.

Girei, nonetheless, said that one of the major challenges facing the bank was its huge overhead cost, which, he said, was fostered by its presence in many rural communities.
"This challenge is further compounded by the concessionary interest rate of eight per cent at which the bank gives a loan,'' he said.

Besides, he said that irregular release of capital funds by the bank's owners made proper planning difficult, adding, that only 20 billion of the N50 billion capitalisation promised at its inception in 2001 had been paid.
He also said that the restriction of the bank's investment windows also constituted a major challenge.
Responding, the committee's Chairman, Senator Tawa Wada, urged the bank to explore more investment avenues to boost its income base.

He noted that the capping of the bank's interest rates had also limited its ability to attract funds.