BATN Foundation, BOA sign pact on agric development

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) Foundation and the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) with the aim of enabling the latter to implement several of its agricultural programmes across the country, thereby driving economic growth through agriculture.

The initiative is encapsulated in the BATN Foundation ‘Wealth is Here’ campaign, a youth-centric initiative, through which it hopes to bridge the gap midwifing the involvement of youth agropreneurs in agriculture.
  
Speaking on the partnership, Executive Director, BATN Foundation, Abimbola Okoya, said the signing of the MoU underscored the commitment of both organisations to work together in attaining a joint mandate to promote sustainable development in Nigeria.
   
She said: “I am excited about this partnership and the initiative because it has the youth as its core. Young people are the heartbeat of Nigeria, the future powerhouse of agriculture. Hence, they should not be ignored.”
   
Many young people do not see a future for themselves because of the tough business environment, she said, and with the ‘Wealth is Here’ initiative, BATN Foundation was bridging the gap by providing access to grants, market and technical support to encourage the establishment of viable business enterprises.

Okoya reiterated the foundation’s commitment to support sustainable agriculture through its 2018 – 2022 country programme and investment of about N700 million.

Executive Director, Bank of Africa, Mr Olabode Abikoye, said: “We are honoured to be a part of this initiative and I am happy that BATN Foundation is identifying what the critical need is and is stepping in to fill that gap. I am also impressed that the Wealth is Health campaign by BATN Foundation has a lot of thought-out initiatives.”