Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri
Over 250,000 farmers are to benefit from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rainy season intervention in Borno State.
The CBN Head of Development Finance, Maiduguri Office, Mahmood Nyako, disclosed this while launching farm inputs distribution for cotton farmers in the northern part of the state.
Nyako said the Anchor Borrowers programme of the apex bank would support farmers under 10 selected commodities to ensure food sufficiency towards the post-COVID-19 era.
He said with the relative peace in the state, more intervention would be provided for farmers.
According to Nyako, “We expect our teeming unemployed youths to embrace this programme and get at least one hectare given from one to five hectares under the Anchor Borrowers programme. If they embrace farming, unemployment will dramatically reduce.”
He expressed confidence that farmers would get bumper harvest and pay back the loan given to them which would enable more farmers to benefit from the scheme.
The state Chairman of Cotton Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (COPMAN), Alhaji Isa Abubakar, commended the CBN for coming to their aid as many farmers have lost their means of livelihood due to insurgency.
Items presented included improved seedlings, fertilizers and pesticides.
