The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN yesterday rolled out the conditions for distribution of the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund, MSMED, fund already earmarked by the apex bank for farmers in the country.
CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele who disclosed this in an interactive session with rice farmers in Awka, Anambra State said the apex bank had set aside this amount for the Anchor Borrowers programme initiative to diversify the economy by addressing the issue of local production of agricultural products that would help to reduce the nation’s foreign reserve.
Emefiele who was represented by his Special Adviser on Development Finance, Mr. Paul Eluhaiwe, noted that it was in its resolve to achieve a strong and viable agricultural base with more integrated value chains, enhanced food security, fewer imports and higher productivity that the CBN is providing the funds which would be distributed to farmers at nine per cent (9%) per annum to solve the problem of funding, as a major challenge to farmers in Nigeria.
Maintaining that this plan is in addition to NIRSAL’s capacity building to farmers and bankers, the CBN boss identified mechanisation, input and finance as major hindrances to rice production in Nigeria, even as he pointed out that the programme, which is private sector driven, is aimed at solving the problem of finance.
On the conditions for accessing the loan, the CBN boss noted that farmers would eventually be thoroughly trained on the global best agronomical practices.
“The farmer must be a member of a validated cooperative before applying for the loan. We will find out how much it will take to produce one hectare of rice to determine the amount that will be given to each individual. The idea is to enhance efficient management of the resources”, he stated.
Earlier, the Managing Director of Ebonyi Agro Nigeria Limited and the major off-taker of the programme in Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra State, Charles Ugwu regretted that the Nigerian nation consumes about six metric tons of rice per annum but produces only 3.5 metric tonnes at about $3 billion US Dollars in a year.
Ugwu noted that the two paddy aggregation centres in Anambra State would be made more viable, promising that his group would as well buy all the rice produced in the state through this programme, even as he enjoined farmers to utilize the opportunity offered by the programme to increase their productivity.
In his remarks, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Afam Mbanefo thanked the CBN and the Off-taker for the initiative and called on the farmers in the value chain to ensure that they are revalidated.
Mbanefo emphasized that the State government has made tractors available for farmers and had equally distributed seedlings, fertilizer and other inputs to support farmers, hinting that the state established an information control centre with the hope of driving home, the rice and cassava value chain.
Source: VanguardNGR
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