No fewer than 377 cooperative societies in Edo have been selected to benefit from the N143 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (MSMEDF) provided by the CBN.
Mr Edward Izevbigie, the State Project Coordinator of Fadama 111, disclosed this in an interview with reporter on Sunday in Benin.
Izevbigie said that MSMEDF was initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide soft loans to micro, small and medium scale farmers in the country to achieve food security in the country.
According to him, two categories of farmers have been shortlisted to benefit from the intervention fund.
“Out of the number of cooperative societies selected for the programme, 122 have been shortlisted for direct funding under the first category.
“A total of 255 cooperative societies shortlisted under the second category would undergo business development training to qualify them for accessing the loan,” he said.
Izevbigie said the scheme decided to use Fadama 111 project structure to administer the fund to farmers at the grassroots.
The coordinator said the money would be disbursed to the farmers based on the nature of their enterprises.
He further said that the state was in the process of paying its counterpart fund in order to access additional financing for Fadama 111 project in the state.
Izevbigie also said that the office was currently disbursing funds for ongoing Fadama 111projects in the state.