By Olugbenga Salami
The Barau Initiative for Agricultural Revolution, BIARN in the North West geo-political zone has yet to take off due to cash flow constraints at its partner agency, the Bank of Agriculture, BoA, the management has said.
Chairman of the Initiative, Professor Bashir Fagge Muhammad, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday through Ismail Mudashir, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin.
BIARN, which was unveiled in March last year by the Deputy Senate President, in partnership with the BoA, seeks to revolutionize agriculture and encourage young Nigerian graduates to venture into farming.
The programme, according to the statement, was designed to empower 558 young farmers with loans ranging from ₦1 million to ₦5 million for rice and maize cultivation across the seven North West states, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on food security and youth empowerment.
It stressed that after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the BoA management, the initiative opened applications to prospective beneficiaries, adding that its implementation, was however, stalled by cash flow challenges at the bank.
The BIARN management assured that a list of successful applicants would be published once the funding issue is resolved.
It, therefore, urged the applicants to “remain patient as the Initiative’s Board, chaired by Professor Bashir Fagge Muhammad, works closely with BoA management to address the setback.”
The BIARN commended the management of BoA for keying into the initiative and for its efforts to tackle funding gaps in the agricultural sector.
It explained that through the programme, the Deputy Senate President aims to harness the potential of Nigerian youth, boost food security, and restore agriculture as a cornerstone of the North West economy.
