THE National Directorate of Employment (NDE) Lagos State Office announced that it has begun disbursing loans to eligible farmers under the Rural Employment Promotion Department (REP).
According to the NDE, the move was made to ensure food sustainability in the state in accordance with the directorate’s vision statement.
While flagging off the disbursement, the Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, who was represented by the Lagos State Coordinator, Mrs. Serena Olayebi-Edward, reiterated that the purpose of the program is to assist farmers with soft loans to help boost their agricultural businesses.
She also stated that the loan being disbursed had a single-digit repayment option with a six-month moratorium period that would be paid over a three-year repayment period.
She explained that agriculture is the bedrock of any nation’s growing economy, and that, in addition to providing food and raw materials, agriculture is a very good avenue for employment opportunities for a large percentage of the population.
Olayebi-Edward disclosed that the disbursement was for various programmes under REP, adding: “In all, for the first batch of the exercise, seven beneficiaries were empowered in the Community-Based Agricultural Empowerment Scheme, 11 beneficiaries under the Graduate Agricultural Empowerment Scheme, 15 beneficiaries for Sustainable Agricultural Development Empowerment Scheme and nine beneficiaries for the Agricultural Enhancement Scheme in this batch.”
The Lagos State Coordinator admonished the beneficiaries to make every effort to repay the loans given, stating that a positive attitude toward government interventions loans would ensure the continued disbursement of loans from the Federal Government through the National Directorate of Employment for the benefit of others.
She claimed that the NDE was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria to combat mass unemployment and create jobs for the masses, and that the loan scheme was one of the directorate’s many programs aimed at empowering eligible citizens.
