The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Industry (BOI), Sun Trust Bank and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), have jointly released $1.2 million to Santuscom Agro Investment to boost rice production. Managing Director, Santuscom Agro Investment Company Limited, Paul Ofana, in a statement yesterday, explained that the firm signed Memorandum of Understandings with CBN, BoI, SunTrust Bank, and NIRSAL Microfinance Bank to access the facilities. According to Ofana, the BoI/SunTrust facility is for procurement of equipment, plant and accessories for complete rice milling plant of 60 tonnes per day, which is put to the tune of over N300 million. He said: “Santuscom Agro Investment Company Limited, the producers of our popular Ogoja Rice have secured and signed an investment deal with the Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Anchor Borrowers Programme to the tune of $1.2 million, which is equivalent of over N761.9 million. “The investment from Bank of Industry through the SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited is to upscale our rice processing factory to package and process a 60 tonnes per day and five tonnes per hour per boiling mill.

SUN