Adamawa State Government has assured that it will support the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchors Borrower’s Scheme to enhance farming of rice and maize in the state.
Governor Muhammad Umaru Jibrilla, who stated this when he received the team in his office Wednesday, said the state is known as the largest producer of rice in the country, a tempo which should be sustained. The governor, while reiterating government’s commitment towards the realisation of the scheme, explained that 80 percent of people of the state engage in farming of rice and maize.
He urged the commissioner for Agriculture in the state to take up the challenge of portraying the state as leader in the production of rice as well as work out modalities to ensure utilisation of the produce for the benefit of all.
Speaking earlier, leader of the group, Alhaji Mahmud Waziri, who is also the commissioner for Agriculture in the state, told the governor that initially more than one 100,000 farmers were registered on the scheme but only 28,000 farmers were returned by the regulating body as eligible to benefit from the scheme.
The commissioner explained that rice and maize have been selected as crop under the scheme while Bank of Agriculture has the mandate to disburse requirements from the CBN
He said one to five hectares of land is required for cultivation under the raining season, while those who have already planted crops aside the approved seed would be considered due to time loss.
Similarly, LEADERSHIP correspondent who visited the National Food Reserve Agency under the Federal Ministry Rural Development Strategies Grain Reserve Facility, along Ngurore road in Yola, Adamawa State, on fact finding mission, revealed that the grains reserve is yet to commence operation as the contractor handling the project, Crew Construction Company Limited, is yet to receive full payment from the federal government.
The reserve, with estimated capacity to store 25,000 metric tonnes of grain is under lock and key while only three staff were posted by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, waiting to commence operation.