An agritech focussed company, Farmcrowdy Limited (FC), has it is committed to impact 25,000 farmers across Nigeria through its Structured Financing of N5.7 billion. Mr Oluwakotanmi Ojo, the Chief Financial Officer and Business Leader, FC Structured Finance, made this known at the firm’s fourth year anniversary in Lagos.
Ojo said 90 per cent of farmers in the country could not access loan facilities as a result of their inability to meet the criteria of commercial banks. According to him, this is a threat to food security and sufficiency in the country. Ojo said: “Some of the challenges facing the farmers include: lack of information, high-interest rates, lack of access to funds, among others.
“Farmcrowdy Structured Finance has created a business solution to help farmers with access to loan, provide affordable interest rate facilities, farmers inclusion, market access ease, equipment and third party collaboration for farmers. “We want to impact farmers with the lowest single digit interest loans with the raise of N5.7 billion to finance 25,000 farmers nationwide.
“We have currently cultivated 17,000 acres of lands. “This will enhance production of farmers and adequately lower the prices of food,” he said. Also, Mr Christopher Abiodun, a Co-Founder and Chief Lead of the Technology and Data arm, said the firm had built tools and platforms to support the agriculture sector.
According to Abiodun, the tools will help farmers predict yields, profits, and identify markets, among others. He said: “We have built input disbursement apps, farmers app, Farmcrowdy trader, e-commerce platforms. “We are committed to impacting farmers’ lives, and livelihoods positively,” he said.