35,000 Kano farmers to benefit from CBN’s borrower scheme

The Kano State Chairman of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, said about 35,000 registered rice farmers would benefit from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) anchor borrower programme.

The Federal Government introduced the programme to boost rice and wheat production.

The CBN has earmarked N40 billion from the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund for farmers in 12 states participating in the programme at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent.

Aliyu said 35,000 fell short of the100,000 farmers initially targeted for the programme.

“One of the prerequisites for obtaining the loan is that one must register with the association. Secondly, one must open an account with one of the commercial banks,” he explained.

He said most of the farmers, especially local ones, have no account with any bank, and that this was one of the challenges preventing many farmers from  registering.

Aliyu said of the 35,000 farmers that had scaled the CBN’s hurdles, 30 per cent are women, 40 per cent youths, while the remaining 30 per cent are elderly persons.

He said under the programme, each farmer is expected to receive seeds, fertiliser, chemicals and water pump, which represent a total package of N220, 855.

He explained that after paying for the inputs, the balance of the money would be given to each farmer to enable him or her pay for the labour.

Aliyu added that each farmer was expected to cultivate one hectare and repay the loan after harvesting the commodity.

The chairman also said farmers were expected to receive training from extension workers on modern techniques of rice production.

He said a technical committee on the programme had been constituted with a view to ensuring effective implementation of the programme in the state.

The committee, which comprised farmers, agro-chemical dealers, state government and CBN officials, had already swung into action to ensure the success of the programme.

Aliyu said the association had purchased six computer sets and scanners to speed up the registration process.

Credit: The Nation