The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme has announced a major landmark as it revealed it has funded 2.9 million farmers so far.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, made this disclosure on Wednesday when he visited Kebbi State.
According to Emefiele, while speaking on the fifth anniversary of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) the potentials of Nigeria in Agriculture can not be overemphasized.
The programme, which was the flag-off of the 2020 wet season harvest aggregation and 2020 dry season input distribution under the CBN-Rice Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) was hosted at Zauro, Kebbi State.
Emefiele observed that the Anchor Borrowers Programme is part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s initiative to spearhead the diversification of the Nigerian economy by improving the output of rural farmers.
In his breakdown of the beneficiaries, Emefiele highlighted the achievementsof the scheme as this:
“2,923,937 farmers have benefitted from the Programme. 3,647,643 hectares have been cultivated by farmers under the Programme, 21 commodity sectors benefited from the program.
“In the 2020 wet season, Banks under the CBN-RIFAN partnership financed 221,450 farmers for the cultivation of 221,450 hectares in 32 States.
“On the overall success of the Anchor Programme, the CBN Governor stated that the popular rhetoric of agriculture being a neglected sector in the Nigerian economy is now a thing of the past.”
He stressed the need for Nigeria to start building up its agricultural reserves so as to be in a strong position when the rainy days arrive.
“The rhetoric around neglect of previous years will remain part of our history and the best time to correct those mistakes is now and every stakeholder must contribute their quota to guarantee the realization of these national targets.
“Covid-19 and the associated lockdowns globally have shown that nations only export out of their reserves. Let us start building our own reserves now,” Emefiele said.
The apex bank Governor, while speaking on the successful partnership between the CBN, the Kebbi State Government and RIFAN, applauded President Buhari’s Economic Sustainability Plan.
The Kebbi State Governor, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, and the president of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, expressed gratitude to the Muhammadu Buhari administration for the successful Agricultural Programme.
The President Buhari administration approved the revamping and resuscitation of the Nigerian Commodity Exchange to enhance post-harvest handling, guarantee effective pricing for farmers, and minimize the adverse effect of middlemen.
Recall that the Anchors Borrowers Programme is a Federal Government Initiative with the objective of bridging the gap between small scale farmers and the financial sector in the country.
