AN EVALUATION OF IMPACT OF MICRO FINANCE BANK ON AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN IFELODUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Nigeria is a country that is enclosed by nature with all the resources that facilitate Agricultural Development. These include Vast Kind of areas, rich soil, plenty of rainfall and hardworking peoples. Nature has been generous to this country. So when Nigeria attained Independence in 1960, agriculture was the dominant sector of the economy. It constituted over 65% of the country’s gross domestic product (GP) and provided the bulk of foreign exchange earning through the export of cash crops. There is therefore little or no wonder that pivot of discovery of oil. This country has been a great exporter of farm produce as groundnut, cocoa, palm kennel and oil, cotton and rubbers. The overall agriculture deteriorated creating a wide gap between supply and demand for food and revenue from agricultural export demanded. So government was faced with mouthing food import bills at the same time, industries, increasingly restore to importing agricultural raw materials. In order to tackle some problems facing the agricultural sector, the federal government and central bank of Nigeria (CBN) put in place certain policies no respect agricultural financial through:
a. The establishment of specialized financial institution likes The Nigeria Agricultural and Micro Finance Bank (NAMB), Peoples bank among others.
b. Credit and control policy under the policy of commercial merchant Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through monetary policy circular to lend a certain percentage of their loan portfolio to farmers and agro- based industrialist.
c. Their establishment of special scheme like agricultural credit guarantees scheme (ACGS), the Nigeria agricultural insurance, company (NAIC), Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME), were established to supplement the activities of specialized financial institutions in credit delivery. Since finance is a key element for modernization of agricultural and agro- allied business, because necessary to study the contribution of micro finance banks on Agricultural Development with special reference to Ifelodun Microfinance Banks Ikirun Osun State.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The contribution of micro finance bank to Agricultural Development can not be over emphasized in the development of the any state or country particularly at local government level. Agricultural contribute greatly to the revenue generation and the economic growth and development of the local government and individual. In view of the laudable contribution of microfinance Bank to Agricultural development it is necessary to examine these contributions in Osun State with particular reference to Ifelodun Local Government area Ikirun.
AN EVALUATION OF IMPACT OF MICRO FINANCE BANK ON AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN IFELODUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA