FG disburses N2.2bn agric funds to 444 co-operative societies...

 Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals, Dr. Precious Gbeneol, 

The Federal Government has disbursed N2.2bn to the 444 agricultural-based cooperative societies in 148 local government areas out of the 774 LGs in the country.

The measure is part of the efforts to boost agricultural production in Nigeria.

The three agricultural-based cooperative societies selected from each of the 148 LGAs received N500,000 each for group agricultural activities for investment in enterprises along the agricultural value chain and operated through a micro-credit finance process.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals, Dr. Precious Gbeneol, disclosed this in Abuja during the inauguration of the MDGs micro-credit grants to 444 agric-based co-operative societies in 148 local governments.

According to her, the initiative remains one of the pivotal strategies of her office to complement all poverty alleviation and employment initiatives of the Federal Government.

The scheme is expected to positively improve on the economic activities in the rural areas.

She however pledged that the number of the benefitting societies would be scaled up to 630 this year to accommodate other agric-based societies across the country.

Gbeneol said, “It is our expectation that with the successful inauguration of this initiative, the 444 agric-based cooperative societies in the 148 local government areas across  the country will go back to their communities to make judicious use of this opportunity accorded them by the committed leadership of this administration.”

Source - Punch