The  Managing Director,  Bank of Agriculture, Dr. Muhammed Santuraki on Monday said that the bank would provide N1bn counterpart fund to jumpstart a N2bn funding window for an agriculture scheme in the state.

He spoke in Ilorin when the bank was presenting the proposal to the Governor of Kwara State, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed.

Santuraki explained that the collaborative fund would provide lending support to commercial farmers, youth and women in agriculture and other value chain outlets.

He expressed the hope that the scheme could begin before the end of this farming season, adding that it could support about 2,000 small and medium enterprises  scale farmers or up to 10,000 farmers if they were micro farmers, depending on the option adopted by the state.

Santuraki also said the scheme would create about 20,000 direct employment for the indigenes of the state while the quality of life of about 100,000 people should improve in the next one year.

He said the scheme would be a revolving one and ultimately, additional 20,000 hectares of arable land would have been cultivated with huge contribution to national food security.

Ahmed said that the BoA funding window was attractive and that the state was ready to support it.

He added that it would increase the tempo of commercial agriculture in  the state.

He noted that it was necessary to establish agricultural malls across the country through private sector initiative and drive commercial agriculture in the country.

The governor also urged the Bank of Industry and the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Finance to work out modalities that would promote backward integration in the agricultural sector for growth and food security.