THE Managing Director of Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Mohammed Santuraki has condemned moves by the regulatory authority to merge any of the Nation's Development Finance Institutions (DFIs),including the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and the Bank of Industry (BOI).Santuraki said such merger would not only be counter-productive, but would amount to policy summersault, capable of derailing the programmes articulated for the DFIs to boost Nigeria's economic growth and development within the shortest period.The Managing Director, who spoke in Kaduna during the Cotton-Value-Chain stakeholders meeting held at Asaa Pyramid Hotel, argued that the situation in the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), where merger and consolidation became the order of the day should be a food for thoughts for those pushing the idea of merger of DFIs in Nigeria.Santuraki said: 'There are scores of DFIs in India and other developing economies of the world, nobody has considered merging them because they are playing their roles in various ways, how can anyone suggest a merger of the only four DFIs we have in Nigeria in the name of consolidation.According to him, 'If consolidation and merger of deposit banks from more than 80 in Nigeria to about 25 and later to about 12 has not really worked, how can it then work in Development Finance Institutions; it will be counter-productive'.Santuraki further posited at a meeting attended by commissioners of Agriculture in the cotton-growing states across the nation, cotton farmers, expert and professionals from academic institutions, and other development partners, that there is need for concerted efforts on ways to improve on cotton production in the country.However, he lauded the initiatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for coming up with the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), saying the package was an eye opener for stakeholders to take advantage of and ensure the development of the nation's agricultural system.According to Santuraki considering the windows of opportunities thrown open by the CBN, there is no way Nigeria farmers can produce food crops the way and manner our fathers produced in the 50s, stressing that beyond enhancing the process of lending to farmers for mass production, the CBNand other financial institutions are also looking into storage and marketing issues for farmers.He assured participants at the stakeholders meeting which was organised by the BOA that the nation's Development Finance Institutions are ready to look critically into all inhibitions standing in the way of Nigeria large scale and small farmers with the aim of addressing them holistically, stressing that matters such as insurance cover for agriculture loans, and other risks in the sector would be addressed.Besides, Head of the National Integrated Project Implementation Office of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Jude Uzonwanne said there has been a critical study of the problems facing all categories of farmers in the country, but assured that in a short while the critical issues standing in the way of farmers would be addressed.Nzonwanne, who presented a catalogue of problems facing farmers and an outline of aids, as financial and technical antidote put together by experts and other professionals, said all hands should be on deck for the success of the initiative, which is aimed at supporting about 54,000 cotton farmers across Nigeria.
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