Payment service bank, 9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB) has pledged to support the country’s agriculture value chain by providing easily accessible and inclusive payment solutions to farmers.
Chief Executive Officer, 9PSB, Branka Mracajac gave the assurance, while speaking at the Vanguard Economic Forum Series, held Thursday, March 17, 2022 at The Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Delivering a keynote presentation titled, Digitizing Payment & Agricultural Value Chain Financing for Small Holder and Commercial Farmers, Mracajac noted that the solution to the problem of the country’s agriculture value chain is two-pronged: the need to increase funding -which farmers have easy access to – for Agribusiness, and to digitise payments in the agriculture value chain to ensure easy access to funds.
According to her, while there are ongoing efforts to solidify the country’s financial inclusion mandate, it is important to speed up actions on addressing the gap in financial literacy. “Although, there is an increase in the uptake of digital financial products and payment platforms in Nigeria, the fact remains that most farmers in rural Nigeria, are unbanked and have little or no access to formal financial services, including adequate information on the most basic elements of financial concepts,’’ she said.
‘‘Therefore, if you visit the yam and garri market at Iseyin, in Oyo state where, for instance, there is a hub of these small-scale farmers, you will discover that a lot of the payments for farm produce and other services are cash transactions. People travel from major Southwest cities carrying heavy cash for their goods, because the farmer from whom they buy the products does not accept or understand or trust digital modes of payment,’’ she said.
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Also speaking at the event, Richard Mark Mbaram, Co-Chair, Communications Sub-Committee, UN Food Systems Summit Nigeria Cohort, noted that in solving food security issues, there is need to integrate smart solutions. Speaking further he said, “If we are looking at achieving a world free of hunger by 2030, then we need to aggressively look into improving the capacity and productivity of farmers as well as expanding the market frontiers to make the agribusiness viable and attractive”.
Dr. Emmanuel Ijewere, Vice President, Nigeria Agribusiness Group who spoke about creating an environment where Nigerian farmers are able to partake in the global agric export trade ,said that there was a need to “emphasise smart agriculture and mechanised farming, to enable farmers overcome the natural encumbrances that come with the business in terms of storage, farm implements, seedlings, fertilisers, quality of produce, among others.
The economic Forum with the theme, “Enhancing Nigeria’s Food Security in a Changing Climate and Digital Technology Environment,” attracted industry players within the agribusiness and fintech ecosystem who gathered to discuss and proffer solutions to improving the country’s agriculture value chain business.
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