The Oyo State Government has taken steps to relax the guarantor requirements for the ongoing SAfER/Agricultural Credit Corporation of Oyo State (ACCOS) scheme for farmers.

ACCOS President, Sheikh Taofeek Akeugbagold, said this was to ensure that more farmers had access to agricultural loan schemes.

Addressing stakeholders in Ibadan, he said Governor Seyi Makinde had approved the inclusion of leaders of farmers groups to act as guarantors to interested farmers seeking loans from the Agricultural Credit Corporation of the State.

“This development will enable the executive members of the farmers’ association to vouch for their group members demanding that the SAfER/ACCOS agricultural loan align with Makinde’s commitment to supporting the state’s agricultural sector.

“We observed that most farmers could not access agricultural loan under SAfER due to the bureaucratic bottleneck of providing civil servants working with the state government as guarantors.

He said Makinde approved the inclusion of leaders of farmer groups to represent farmers interested in accessing the facilities.

According to him, this will eliminate the guarantor bottleneck of civil servants, thereby improving the productivity of agricultural produce and by extension the food security of the state and the country at large.

The President also pointed out that changing the guarantor requirements would benefit farmers who may not know any officials. This would enable executive members of registered farmers’ associations to fulfill this role in a transparent manner.

Earlier, the Coordinating Director of the Oyo State Agricultural Credit Corporation, Mr. Tunde Oladejo, had reminded previous beneficiaries of the SAfER/ACCOS loan to repay their loans to the respective disbursing banks.

He added that timely repayment was crucial to ensure the sustainability of the loan program while allowing other farmers to benefit from the intervention.