In order to boost farmers produce in Bauchi State, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) has targeted 30,000 farmers in the state, to lift small farmers out of poverty and generate more of jobs for the teeming populace.
This was disclosed to journalists by the deputy director, Development Finances of CBN, Bauchi, Masa’ud Ibrahim Tulu, after a stakeholders’ meeting held at BSADP conference hall Bauchi yesterday.
He said in Bauchi the scheme was targeting 30, 000 farmers who would benefit adding that already over 10,000 had registered, and have opened account with five banks namely FCMB, UBA, Sterling, Jaiz and BOA.
“We are going out to screen those registered farmers, plots and train the extension workers to make up with the agricultural technology and the structures of the scheme.
He explained that the essence of the programme was to diversify the economic system, huge sums spent by Nigeria on the importation of food items that could be produced locally, stressing that the N1 trillion importation bill was not sustainable.
Ibrahim,who stressed the implication of falling oil prices to Nigeria’s foreign reserve, said the situation underscored the need for Nigeria and Nigerians to diversify the productive and revenue base of the country’s economy and conserve her foreign reserve by curbing the appetite for imported goods that can easily be produced locally.
The deputy director said CBN has to shift from concentrating only on price, monetary, and financial system stability to act as a financial catalyst in specific sectors of the economy particularly agriculture, in an effort to create jobs on a mass scale, improve local food production, and conserve scarce foreign reserves.
Also speaking , the Bauchi State lead consultant of the ABP, Dr Nura Abdulmalik, said the state have mobilised and sensitised all the farmers on bank account opening and as well trained the extension workers that were responsible for training of the farmers.
He stressed that the state government was to coordinate the structures of the scheme made up of the anchors, farmers, and the up takers.
Abdulmalik also explained the state government has agreed to service the interest of the banks looking at the conservative nature of the people in the state.
