NGO offers “crowd funding” to farmers to boost food production in Benue

Food
By Philip Dzeremo
Makurdi, March 18,2020 (NAN) An NGO, AGROFUNDERS, says it is offering what it termed “crowd funding” to farmers in Benue to boost food production in the state.

The Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Mr Kelvin Tersoo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Makurdi, that it was working with other investors to end hunger by promoting food sufficiency in the state.

NAN reports that its desire to end hunger in the state was in alignment with one of the goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end hunger by the year 2023″.

Tersoo said the group intended to use the SWOT analysis to select farms for its mass food production scheme by providing them with needed incentives.

“The SWOT analysis emphasises Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to determine which farms to be used,” he explained.

He said the group worked with farmers’ associations, farmers’ clusters and farmers’ cooperative societies by interfacing with them to make their intentions of funding known.

“After due diligence checks and feasibility studies with SWOT analysis on their farms, we can then have their farms on the online platform,” he said.

He said that after each farm cycle, farm produce would be sold by the AGROFUNDERS to already contacted markets with the initial funds and accruing returns on investments paid to investors that funded such farms.

According to the CEO, the remaining proceeds from sales is shared between the farmer and the AGROFUNDERS in the ratio of 70/30 per cent respectively.

Tersoo said the crowd funding option was suitable for investors, who were interested in funding agricultural projects and called on them to take advantage of existing farms on the network to fund their operations based on units attractive to them.

He, however, warned that no investor would give cash to farmers, rather, he explained that the needed equipment would be provided.

“Channeling the funds doesn’t mean we are giving farmers cash, we will be providing tractors to clear and plough the farms, we will also be providing seeds, herbicides, farm implements such as seeders, electric sprayers and other support systems needed by farmers,” he said.

Tersoo said the other support systems provided would include e-extension and physical agricultural extension services, adding that farmers would have the opportunity of accessing ready markets.

Tersoo, who assured that all products of farms funded by investors would be insured, pointed that the bane of farmers in the country was inadequate knowledge of best agricultural practices. (NAN)
PD/GY
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Edited by Grace Yussuf