The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) plans to drive agriculture through its cooperative society to make farmers have easy access to loans.
Chairman of LCCI Agric and Agro-Allied Group Mr. Adeola Elliott told reporters in Lagos that the cooperative society is part of the chamber’s integrated agriculture project.
“We have small farm holders scattered all over and they do not want to remain small farm holders all their lives. They are still small farm holders because their capacity to expand is limited and it is difficult for even banks to give loans to small farm holders. The cooperative society intends to bring all farmers under one umbrella and yet operate independently,” he explained.
Elliot said as farmers become members of the LCCI Agric and Agro Allied Group and the cooperative society, they automatically will be entitled to loans.
Elliott said the cooperative society will also be used to confront the government and ensure that loans for farmers get to the real farmers.
He said this way, farmers would be sure that whatever assistance coming from the government would be spread to them as members, unlike now that loans for farmers would be given to non farmers.
Elliott noted that the cooperative society is open to big and small farm holders nationwide.
He said there would be opportunities for farmers with similar produce to come together and get a tractor to plough their lands, which would be cost effective.
According to him, ordinarily small farm holders will not be able to hire a tractor because of the cost, but when they come together, it would be cheaper.
In a related event, the LCCI has empowered 70 mentees at its yearly mentoring programme for young entrepreneurs.
The gesture was in recognition of the key roles entrepreneurs play in a nation’s economy.
LCCI President Dr. Nike Akande said the mentoring complements the Chamber’s mission to promote and protect the interests of its members and the business community through public policy advocacy, creation and facilitation of investment opportunities, provision of business development services and observance of the highest standards of business ethics.
Mrs Akande, who spoke at the LCCI entrepreneurship programme, noted that quality human capital can be a major driver of sustainable economic transformation, pointing out that people are important to make things happen in any system.
She said the initiative was aimed at contributing to the development of the youth and also to facilitate their self-discovery. She said this was the way to harness the huge human capital potential, which the youthful population offers.
Mrs Akande added that the mentoring programme started three years ago with 25 mentees, and that by the end of 2015, the chamber had trained and mentored 93 young entrepreneurs most of whom are doing very well in their various spheres of enterprise.
“Today, we are admitting another set of seventy young Nigerians who will be graduates of this programme in the next six months. I am pleased to inform you that the council of the LCCI only recently approved the admission of the graduates of our mentoring programme into the membership of the chamber on very concessionary terms. The idea is to nurture the next generation of businessmen and women,” she said.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, represented by the State Coordinator of the Ministry, Mr. Wale Shado, praised the leadership of the Chamber for the strategic initiative.
He described the programme as “apt and timely” when viewed against the backdrop of the present administration’s agenda on employment generation and youth empowerment for sustainable development.
The minister said the Federal Government planned to provide experiences and opportunities for youths and adults to bring forth the best within them to constantly develop and enhance their abilities and take responsibilities to make positive contributions to their communities.
LCCI Director-General, Mr. Muda Yusuf, reiterated that the programme has been a huge success. He noted that this batch of mentees would have a similar and even better experience.
He stressed that the mentoring has been further enriched to empower young entrepreneurs on building capacity, access to market and to create an enabling environment for their businesses to thrive. Yusuf said this year, the chamber would be involving more credible private sector partners to improve experience sharing.
Source: The Nation
Source: The Nation
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