National food security subsidy’ll cushion petrol subsidy removal – SVNED MD
Emmanuel Kehinde,Ilorin
The Managing Director, Silicon Valley Nigeria Economic Developments, H.RH. Chief Ambassador Aminat Temitope Ajayi, has said national food security subsidy is imperative to cushion the current harsh impacts of the removal of petrol subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.
She stated that it is important to tap into the great agricultural potential of Nigeria to address national food insecurity or hunger, unemployment, inflation, revenue generation for the govenrment and the development of small and medium enterprises.
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In an interview with journalists on Tuesday, she lauded the Federal Government under President Tinubu for declaring a state of national emergency on food security to stem the current food inflation in Nigeria.
Chief Ajayi said it is heartwarming that the president Federal Government under President Tinubu has indicated a great commitment to agriculture going by the recent media briefing by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake.
The SVNED boss said her organisation had already keyed into the food security programme of the government through her partnership with Arewa farms, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, and other organisations.
She stated that SVNED has trained farmers and entrepreneurs and appealed to the Federal Government to support them so as to bring their wealth of training to boost food production and entrepreneurship in the country.
Chief Ajayi, who is the Founder/CEO of the Nigerian American Agricultural Empowerment Program (NAAEP) commended President Tinubu and Alake.
She said that in her commitment to agricultural development, she introduced the Arewa farmers to the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, who is also Co-Chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN). She explained that Ooni accepted to be one of the Patrons of the programme.
She also said that she took the Arewa farmers to Etsu Nupe, His Royal Highness, Alhaji (Dr.) Yahaya Abubakar, who also accepted to be the Chairman of the group.
Chief Ajayi said, “The solution to food subsidy is national food security subsidy. I thank God that SVNED has partnered with all the Arewa farmers in Nigeria to support food security and food subsidy. We have applied on their behalf for the intervention loan for agriculture and small cottage industries. The application has already been submitted waiting for approval. The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc.) has already approved SVNED as a registered Entrepreneurship Development Institution (EDI) to facilitate the training and processing.
“The mandate is from NISRAL MicrofFinace Bank appointing us as one of its Entrepreneurship Development Institutions in the Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) Loan Programme for 2023. One of the mandates is to train entrepreneurs in business best business practices and how to run successful businesses. After that, we certify them and forward their list to NISRAL to be able to provide access to finance so that they will be able to start up and run successfully.
“The aim of the training is to be sure that people become enterprising so that they do not just give people money and they do not even know how to use it. Or even those who know how to use it do not know how to manage their businesses and at the end of the day, they will not do successful businesses. So SVNED is there to bridge the gap and provide them with the necessary entrepreneurship skills and business acumen to be able to run small businesses effectively.
“We have submitted some names of the trained entrepreneurs and farmers pending approval.
“We have also registered all the Commodities Presidents. SVNED is most grateful to this present administration. They have to supply our farmers with seeds, inputs and fertilizer because they are already in the system. We have been on this since last year. We have been training Nigerians.”
She added, “For the President to remove fuel subsidy, the only thing that can combat that is food subsidy and once there is food, everything is solved. We are getting the youths involved in the whole process. We thank The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc.) and NISRAL MicroFinance that have partnered with us. We are happy that the CBN is working with the present administration to really go to the grassroots and give this intervention fund to the right people that have been trained. It is a loan with a single-digit interest rate which will be paid in six years with a one-year moratorium.
“I have to commend Mr Dele Alake for that bold step. That is the type of Media Assistant to the President that we want in this country. The person who will be the mouthpiece of our dear President, Bola Tinubu, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“In my past press statements, I clearly stated that this Present President is sent by the Almighty God.
“We have started planting in Jos, Plateau. We have already existing 1,000 hectares of land already cleared and we have started planting it. We can be visited anytime. We have already started implementing the food security of Mr President and thereby started making him proud. We believe so much in his government.
“We have been involved in the intervention programme of the government even from the past administration. For the government to identify them as one of the implementers of the intervention means they are really doing well. They have done a lot of programmes that have impacted on farmers and entrepreneurs.
“I am appealing to Mr. President to really equip them because as of today, they are really the voice of the masses.
“I took my partners, the Arewa Farmers and some of the Commodity Board members to meet the Ooni of Ife and he accepted to be one of the patrons of this project so as to assist the President of Nigeria. He also promised that he will do everything in his capacity to address food insecurity and unemployment in the country.
“I also took them to Etsu Nupe, His Eminence Dr. Yahaya Abubakar. He accepted to be the Chairman of this organisation. Everybody is working to support the present administration.”
