Who hijacked CBN Anchor Borrowers Scheme fund disbursement?

Nigeria has launched an Anchor Borrowers Programme for farmers to advance their status from small holder farmers to commercial or large growers. At the launch of the programme in Kebbi State some months ago, President Muhammadu Buhari expressed optimism that the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme had a potential of creating millions of jobs and lifting […]

Nigeria has launched an Anchor Borrowers Programme for farmers to advance their status from small holder farmers to commercial or large growers. At the launch of the programme in Kebbi State some months ago, President Muhammadu Buhari expressed optimism that the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme had a potential of creating millions of jobs and lifting thousands of small holder farmers out of poverty. Central Bank of Nigeria have set aside 40 billion Naira out of the 220 billion Naira Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund to be given to farmers at single digit interest rate of maximum nine per cent per annum.
Fourteen states – Kebbi, Sokoto, Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Kano, Zamfara, Adamawa, Plateau, Lagos, Ogun, Cross-Rivers and Ebonyi came together to push the programme, which the Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin
Emefiele, said would increase in agricultural productivity and farm income.
Cooperative farmers in Kaduna State under the CBN’s scheme are yet to get the loan disbursement as originally scheduled. The failure of some of the Anchor Companies/Take-Off or Millers to release the farm inputs to farmers, which takes three months to produce quality yield, is deliberately aimed at frustrating the farmers.
Subsequently, the CBN’s failure to release funds to help pay for tractors hired to plough farms, clearing of farm land etc led to a situation that made it impossible for farmers to cultivate their respective farm lands which is now getting late due to the rainy nature in this part of the country.
In order to achieve this objective, we call on Kaduna State Government and stakeholders involved to intervene so that the funds should immediately be disburse to these Cooperatives/farmers so that they can quickly move to the farm.
Ahmed Abdulrahman, Kaduna, [email protected]