Business
SOME farmers in Borno have commended the Federal Government over the implementation of its Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP) designed to encourage agricultural productivity.
A cross section of the farmers told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri and Jere Local Government Areas of Borno on Friday that the timely distribution of inputs and other support services to farmers in the state by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was commendable
The CBN had provided inputs to over 50, 000 farmers this cropping season in the state under its agriculture support programme.
The programme is being implemented by the CBN in collaboration with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Nigeria Agriculture Insurance Corporation (NAIC), and designated agricultural input dealers otherwise called “private anchors”.
The farmers told NAN that the support had encouraged them to cultivate their farmlands.
Mr Ahmed Isa, a rice farmer at Dusuman village, said he received fertilisers, seeds, chemicals and money for farm labour activities under the ABP.
Isa said that he cultivated rice on his five-hectare farmland with the support from the government.
“I am displaced from my home in Mafa which prevented me from farming for many years. I was encouraged to return to the farm with the support from the programme.
“I cultivated five hectares of land, and I will soon be harvesting my crops,” he said.
Modu Yusuf and Kyari Umar, said they cultivated rice, beans and sorghum at Kachallari with the support of the ABP.
Umar said that the support would enable him to earn more money from the sale of the produce.
A female farmer, Hauwa Ali, said she and other women received inputs and cultivated about 10 hectares of lands.
Ali, a widow, said that the support encouraged them to engage in productive activities to enable them take care of their needs and cater for the education of their children.
Also, Alhaji Abba Kale, the Manager, Kalef Ventures, one of the prime anchor clients, said the company had coordinated and supervised distribution of inputs to about 3, 000 farmers during the cropping season in the state.
Kale explained that the company would ‘uptake’ the produce from the farmers for processing, value addition and marketing.
According to him, the company with the support of the apex bank will soon commence distribution of inputs to another set of farmers for dry season activities.
On his part, Mr Mahmood Nyako, the Head, Finance Development Office (DFO) of the CBN in Maiduguri, said the bank targeted over 70,000 farmers and small businesses in 2019 in the state.
Nyako disclosed that the bank had initiated viable programmes to encourage production, transform value chain, enhance financial inclusion and encourage growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).
He said that the CBN adopted practical measures to finance the whole value chain to encourage agricultural activities, enhance entrepreneurial skills and specialisation to achieve self-sufficiency and food security.
Nyako said that the practical measures included the ABP, Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme (AADS), Agriculture Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF), and Agri-Business, Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS), among others.
He revealed that 52,008 farmers were targeted to participate under the ABP and 500 big-holder farmers under ACGSF while 17,000 youths and businesses would be supported under the AADS and AGSMEIS respectively.
According to the CBN official, the bank has registered eight farmer associations, a number of private and prime anchors to streamline inputs distribution and other support services to the beneficiaries.
NAN reports that the ABP is a critical component of the Federal Government’s Agriculture Transformation Agenda designed to encourage crop production and processing to achieve self-sufficiency.
It also aims at enhancing farmers’ access to fertilisers, seeds, inputs, promote farmers’ entrepreneurial skills, value addition and create market for the produce. (NAN)
– Oct. 25, 2019 @ 16:45 GMT |
Tags: Borno farmers laud FG’s Anchor Borrower Programme
