The new system of improving agriculture for sustained food production, known as the Farmer Wallet Mobile App, has been unveiled in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State.
Unveiling the APP, the chief executive officer and founder of Farmer Wallet Mobile APP Engr. Valentine Iorlaha said the Wallet is the first digital cooperative financing to be launched in Benue and Nigeria.
According to him, “This APP will allow smallholder farmers to save incrementally at their convenient and securely for farm inputs, such as seedlings, agrochemical, fertilizers and mechanisation, while also providing access to microloans, insurance, market, data and extension advisory services.
“Benue State is blessed with fertile lands and a vibrant farming population that requires the innovation that we are unveiling today, the Farmer Wallet is designed to address the unique challenges faced by our smallholder farmers and we firmly believe it will play a vital role in unlocking investment by the farmers themselves.”
He explained that the foundation of the Farmer Wallet APP is the initiative of the president of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, during his time as the minister of Agriculture, known as the E-Wallet System.
According to him, “We have further developed the Wallet into a sustainable, self-driven and scalable digital platform that provides more than just farm inputs but also empower farmers with financial services, planning tools and market access, which will make their farming journey more prosperous and secured.”
He said, “I will also like to commend Tony Elumelu founder of Tony Elumelu foundation for his support morally and financially which has helped in all the processes that led to where we are today.”
Earlier, the managing director of Novus Microfinance Bank (Novus MFB), Patricia Goja, said the Bank was founded by the Benue State government and licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Its mission is to improve the lives of farmers in rural communities.
According to her, “the MFB is dedicated to enlarging the food basket status of Benue State, and to facilitate this, we are in collaboration with farmers wallet to use their App and through our 3000 agents network assist farmers save funds for farm inputs and food.”
She maintained that the farmers wallet App, “which is easy to use after the unveiling, will be integrated into our mobile banking app and internet banking; it will also be made available on our website , www.novusmfb.com.”
Earlier, the state chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Abel Owoicho, who commended the founder of Farmer Wallet APP Iorlaha, promised that all farmers would key into the project even as he called on the management of Novus and Farmer Wallet founder to work out modalities to include indigent farmers in both programmes.
