Date Published: 06/22/09

Mimiko disburses N20m loan to market women

The Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko on Monday disbursed loan worth twenty million naira (N20m) to over 600 market women in the Central Senatorial District under the Special Market-Women Improvement Loan and Empowerment Scheme (SMILES) of his administration. The money was part of the N50million credit window earmarked by Dr Mimiko for market women in the first batch of the SMILES which was in fulfillment of his campaign promises to the electorate.

The Governor had two weeks ago flagged off the distribution of cheques to market women in Okitipupa town in the Southern Senatorial District .

        Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko identified hunger and poverty as the twin problems which are pervasive at the global level. According to him, spiraling food prices are fast becoming the nightmares eroding the gains made on the Millennium Development Goals, especially in the area of curtailing extreme poverty and hunger.

        Acknowledging the positive impact of the scheme after it was flagged off in the Southern Senatorial District through the feedback system, Dr. Mimiko said it was in recognition of this challenge that government decided to package the scheme as an initiative to address the support side of food marketing.

He expressed the opinion that access to generous working capital would lower the cost of food marketing and that it would trickle down  and lower the prices of food across the state.

        The governor urged beneficiaries of the scheme to pass the gains to the final consumer to enable more people has access to affordable food leading to a demand-pull boost for local food production.

“I wish to remind the beneficiaries to utilize the loan well and censure prompt payment so that the scheme will be sustainable. The people of Ondo State are watching you and you should not disappoint them”, he admonished them

Dr. Mimiko added that the scheme right the resolve of government to target the drivers of the economy for special intervention saying that other key segments of the economy are equally receiving attention as demonstrated by the N200 million Agricultural Input subsidy recently granted to farmers and in the housing sector through the development of low cost houses.