President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the N40 billion support for Nigerian farmers yesterday in Kebbi State. Under the CBN Anchor Borrowers programme, the government set aside N40 billion out of the 220 billion Naira Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund which will be given as support for small scale farmers in Nigeria.
The single digit loan facility which has a maximum interest rate of 9%, will be available to small holder farmers to assist them in procuring necessary agricultural inputs such as seedlings, fertilisers, pesticides and other important inputs to help boost agricultural output and productivity. The loans will range from 150,000 Naira to 250,000 Naira
President Buhari told the gathering of farmers and Governors that this initiative is in line with the programme of this administration and he is totally in support of it.
According to him,
“The programme has been designed as a one-stop-solution for agricultural value chain by creating economic linkages between farmers and processors to not only ensure a clear agricultural output but to also reduce dependence on imported food.
“I am hopeful that the programme will be a way that small holder farmers are financed across the country.
“Rice is assumed as our major staple food in Nigeria.
“In 2014 total demand for rice was 6.1 million metric tonnes. Out of this number, 2.6 million metric tonnes was produced locally while the rest were imported.
In emphasizing the need to diversify the nation’s economy, the President said that “The plummeted price of crude oil means that there are limited resources available to governments at all levels. Therefore the diversification of the economy is no longer an option for us as a nation. It is the only way to reclaim economic momentum and drive to prosperity. The only way to do this is to go back to the land and develop our agricultural production.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Godwin Emiefele said that the CBN had introduced the Anchor Borrowers Programme as a way of targeting the agriculture sector which he said had the potential of creating jobs on a mass scale, reducing poverty and boosting economic growth.
He stressed that “The programme will advance the status of many small holder Farmers to commercial or large growers with attendant increase in agricultural productivity or farm income.
“The top four income commodities in Nigeria, which include Rice and wheat, consumes over one trillion Naira exchange annually.
“Relying heavily on food importation fuels domestic inflation, depletes foreign reserves and create unemployment in Nigeria.
Image Credits: Daily Trust
