Agriculture is the main stay of most economies and it’s fundamental to the socio-economic development of any nation. It is the bedrock of developing economies such as Nigeria. Agriculture has the potential to alleviate poverty (which is one of the core mandates of microfinance) and provide the society’s basic needs like food, employment and raw materials to industries. Agriculture contributed 24.45% to Nigeria’s nominal GDP in 2020 and it’s a growing sector of the economy. Indeed, at a time when the Federal Government of Nigeria is rolling out multiple policies to trigger sustainable growth and development in the Agricultural sector in its bid to diversify the economy from heavy dependence on oil; providing credit financing for small and medium holder agricultural ventures and businesses becomes an important focal point for microfinance especially considering how difficult it is for these vulnerable farmers to access credit facilities in large commercial banks.

Iwajowa Local Government and environs, the operating base of Ave Maria MFB have relatively large farming communities and enterprises. Indeed, the farming activities in the area have also made weekly markets at Iwere Ile, Ibudo Musa market, Olorunda Market at Elekokan and others strong centres of convergence for Agric value chain businesses in South West Nigeria where lots of funds change hands every other day and provides a veritable opportunity for the Bank to maximize (through provision of fund transaction services).

Hence, this product paper proposes a credit product specifically designed to meet the financing needs of the small and medium scale farmers and Agric based entrepreneurs who operate in these markets and beyond. The product is tailored to offer convenient and competitive credit facilities to such customers in line with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s vision for Agricultural and Economic development.