Since the WHO declared the novel coronavirus a global pandemic, much of our news has been dominated by the economic and social impact of the disease.
Uka Eje, CEO of Thrive Agric, a technology-driven agricultural company passionate about ensuring global food security. [PHOTO CREDIT: Thrive Agric official website]declared the novel coronavirus a global pandemic on March 11, much of our news has been dominated by the economic and social impact of the disease. We have heard this thrown around a lot; that the coronavirus is the ‘great equaliser’.
At Thrive Agric, our contribution to ensuring that Nigeria is food sufficient has always meant that we prioritized the farmer. Now more than ever, at a time where the Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned of a looming food crisis, a farmer-centric approach must dominate our response to this challenge. Many of these farmers have inherited their livelihoods from their fathers and have not been able to expand production beyond what their fathers had.
Yet, the current state of the economy and the predicted downturn has meant that many financial institutions are less inclined to lend money to farmers at this time. Besides this, the fact that banks use one-size-fits-all risk assessment frameworks greatly undermines the importance of farmers and agriculture to the fabric of society and the economy. Simply put: if farmers cannot access credit to support their farms, we risk amplifying the already fragile food security levels in the country.
More importantly, however, there is a fundamental need for the Nigerian government to incentivize the agricultural sector, this needs to take shape in the form of government policy that encourages private sector loans. In the U.S., banks are mandated to give loans to farmers at a negative percentage, these sorts of forward-thinking policies can provide the necessary support for smallholder farmers.
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