No fewer than 33,974 rice farmers in Zamfara state are to benefit from the Anchor Borrowers loan of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in Zamfara said on Thursday that the farmers have gone through biometric data capturing exercise in the state. The Chairman of the Association, Alhaji Isyaku Ajiya-Anka, said each farmer would receive one pumping machine, 30 kilograms of rice seedlings and six bags of fertiliser.
The total loan package is N219, 329.50 per hectare. As part of the package, the farmers will receive herbicide, pesticide, farming services, which included ploughing, harrowing, planting and harvesting. Ajiya-Anka said the farmers would not get the cash directly.
“For farmers who do not require all the services, the cost of services not required will be used to offset part of the loan.’’ State Coordinator of CBN Anchor Borrowers , Mr. Aliyu Hafiz, said every farmer has a card which contains all his details and the required quantities of inputs he should be given. He said the distribution of the inputs had started in seven local government areas. The councils are Gusau, Bungudu, Gummi, Bakura, Anka, Kaura Namoda and Talata Mafara. (NAN)
