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Saturday, January 5, 2013

Phones For Farmers Won’t Cost N60b, Says Agric Minister

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Phones For Farmers Won't Cost N60b, Says Agric Minister
Jan 5th 2013, 00:00

Adesina-4• Project To Be Funded Through PPP

MINISTER of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, at the weekend, denied reports that the Federal Government intends to spend N60 billion on purchase of mobile phones for farmers to advance the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) of the Agriculture Transformation agenda.

According to the Minister, there has been incorrect presentation of figures "and there is no such thing as spending N60 billion on mobile phones, rather the financing of project, which requires even much less, will be done through Public-Private-Partnership (PPP)."

The Minister's Special Assistant on Media and Strategy, Dr. Olukayode Oyeleye, said millions of farmers, who have been largely excluded from the ownership of the 110 million cell phones in the urban areas of the country will, in this arrangenment, be empowered in today's knowledge-driven sector.

Financing the project, which, according to him, has led to some misunderstanding, is being packaged through public-private alliance. To that end, this would be supported through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Communications Technology and the Agriculture Ministry as well as the Ministry of Women Affairs (women farmers intend to get about half of the package).

"The Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), which supports the expansion of mobile operators into rural areas, through a tax, will also back the project but the Agric Minister added that it intends to work with existing mobile operators in Nigeria to provide an effective service."

Adesina said: "From 2013, government intends to distribute 10 million cell phones so we can reach millions of farmers with the GES scheme for subsidised inputs and we expect to reach at least five million farmers with inputs."

He added that farmers, who get mobile phones, would be registered, even as use of biometrics is intended to ensure transparency and cut off overbearing middlemen, who have always short-changed farmers.
"Mobile phones, like in Kenya, would allow farmers access to improved seeds and fertilizer and other inputs at subsidised rates, the first time this is coming to the country to put an end to corruption that has ravaged that sector for decades," Adesina said.

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