The National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) has called on NEXIM Bank to ensure cotton grower’s benefit from the bank’s financial intervention.
NACOTHAN made the call in a communiqué signed by the Chairman, Conference Organising Committee, Felix Egbamuno in Abuja, after a two-day summit and expo, with the theme, ‘Revamping the Cotton Value Chain.’
He said NEXIM Bank will partner other commercial banks to develop a model for financing the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) sector.
Egbamuno urged the association to follow up on the offer made by Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) to support cotton by reducing export costs using the instrument of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG), and expedite follow-up actions with the trade ministry on all its resolutions.
The communique also stressed the need for re-training on cotton farming, insisting that quality seeds must be provided from research and that relevant associations should ensure efficient practices.
According to the communique, “Federal and State governments must be made aware of the need and importance of support to Nigerian Cotton Farmers and Cotton Ginners, urging the government to do everything to revive the CTG Sub-sector.
Cotton Farming must be provided with a High Volume Instrument (HVI) for rapid testing of important cotton quality parameters.” adding that Government must be made aware of the need to continue with the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) in cotton farming, while NACOTAN commits to continue to pursue recoveries of loans given to farmers through the ABP”
It argued that the sudden stoppage of the ABP after just two years, created problems of continuity. NACOTAN must alert the Government and CBN of the need to ‘fine-tune’ the programme to run for at least five years in order that the full impact of the programme can be felt.