The Barau Initiative for Agricultural Revolution in the North West (BIARN) has yet to take off fully due to the issue of cash flow at its partner agency.
The Chairman of the Initiative, Professor Bashir Fagge Muhammad, disclosed this in a statement by the Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir.
This was contained in a statement signed by Ismail Mudashir, Special Adviser to the Deputy President issued to newsmen.
It said BIARN was unveiled in March last year by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, in partnership with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA). The initiative aims to revolutionise agriculture and encourage young Nigerian graduates to venture into farming.
Specifically, the programme was designed to empower 558 young farmers with loans ranging from N1 million to N5 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.
According to the statement,following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the BOA management, applicants were invited to participate in the initiative. However, implementation was stalled due to challenges relating to cash flow.
It explained that the list of successful applicants will be released once the funding challenge is addressed.
Applicants are therefore urged to remain patient, as the Board of the Initiative, under the chairmanship of Professor Bashir Fagge Muhammad, is working closely with the BOA management to resolve the issue.
The management of BOA is, hereby, commended for keying into the initiative and working towards addressing the funding challenges in the country’s agricultural sector.
Through this programme, the Deputy President of the Senate aims to harness the potential of Nigerian youth, enhance food security, and restore agriculture as a cornerstone of the economy of the North West geopolitical zone.