The Oil Palm Estate Partnership Investment Development Initiative, OPESIDI, and Agribusiness Alternative Retirement Target Investment Savings Scheme, AARTISS, are set to unveil 50,000 agribusiness investment opportunities for 50,000 federal government workers across Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs.
The retirement scheme, which is to be operated in the oil palm plantation value chain, has to do with the establishment of an oil palm estate on a partnership basis of cluster and aggregated indirect farmers.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, the President of Stocks Minas Agricultural Advocacy Network Africa, Mr. Idoko Joseph, revealed that the scheme will be officially launched in June, 2019, stressing that an investor must be on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information (IPPIS) platform for ease of deduction.
Idoko, who is also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Stock and Minas Consults Ltd, also stressed that an investor is expected to be a civil servant in Nigeria with steady remuneration or income and have minimum of five years left in service to retire, at the point of subscription to the scheme.
Speaking on the source of funding, Idoko said that the agribusiness investment scheme is being planned to be sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria, leveraging on the Real Sector Support Facility, RSSF, and targeting tree crop expansion programme in Nigeria.
He also said the total loanable amount of N500,000 is paid to each prospective and registered beneficiary’s investment account and it is programmed to be repaid through monthly deduction.
According to him, “the agreed monthly deduction from the salary account of the indirect farmer is made payable to the Central Bank of Nigeria as a refund for the total sum of the investment cost.
“The organization then takes over the establishment, management and other operations of the plantation for and on behalf of the indirect cluster farmers for profitable return on investment”.
Idoko said the scheme was modelled with a complimentary targeted savings called “Agribusiness Alternative Retirement Target Investment Savings Scheme’’, AARTISS, noting that AARTISS potential benefit to the subscriber includes an inventor becoming a proud part-owner of the oil palm plantation to be established and managed professionally for sustainable economic benefits.
Other benefits include investors benefitting from the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, under organized private sector policy. Under this arrangement, investors are insured.
Earlier in his remarks, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Senator Alloysius Etok, said that the initiative is to boost the agricultural value chain through mechanized farming.
Source: VON
