At least 80,000 Nigerian farmers in the 36 states and the federal capital territory of Abuja, have used a facility funded to the sum of US $4 million by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to increase their harvests or strengthen small businesses in the last five years, UNDP reported on Tuesday.
The loans are given to community groups at 14 per cent interest through local microfinance institutions which handled the administrative work and receive 4 per cent of the interest, UNDP said. When a group has repaid in full, it qualifies for a new loan twice as large as the first.
The beneficiaries live in 400 rural communities, according to UNDP, which says the success of the programme has prompted the federal and some state governments to launch similar schemes to alleviate poverty in Nigeria.
[For more information, please go to http://www.undp.org/rba/newsfront.html]
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
Share this article
