Access to finance is one of the biggest barriers to growth and productivity for SMEs and smallholder farmers and fisher folks. In riverine communities, accessing finance is extremely difficult as farmers and fishers have little awareness of available financial schemes and little knowledge of the application processes.
A baseline survey carried out by SDN through an Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) fund aiming to measure the level of access farmers and fishers in riverine communities have to finance, shows that 91% of the respondents have applied to a financial institution for a grant or loan, and out of those who applied, only one person has received a loan.
SDN, through advocacy visits to NIRSAL, BOA and the Hon. Commissioner of Agriculture, Bayelsa State, presented the findings of the baseline report, and made recommendations for improving access to finance for smallholder farmers and fisher folks in Bayelsa State.
