Katsina
In Katsina State, many villages have been deserted due to incessant attacks by bandits. A resident of Sheme in Faskari Local Government Area said, “Though I cannot give you the exact figure, about 100 villages have been deserted, of which some are being occupied by bandits and others burnt.
“In Ruwan Godiya ward alone, we have Shawu, Unguwar Goga, Yantuwaru, Gidan Dogo, Unguwar Nadaji, Hayin Najafa, Unguwar Baidu, Kanawa, Hitaru and Unguwar Haji villages. Some of them are currently occupied by the bandits, and even those that are not taken over by bandits, the villagers cannot go to their farms as they will be chased away,” he said.
The apex bank, had since 2015, through its Anchor Borrower Programme, disbursed several millions of naira to farmers’ groups to boost, among other crops, rice, cocoa and maize production.
But critics of the initiative say in most cases, only political farmers benefitted from the interventions, which development, they opined, partly responsible for the current high prices of food items in the country.
Now, watchers in the system are calling on the apex bank to rework its policy on the beneficiaries in order to accommodate more real farmers in the package to boost more production.
They are also calling on the apex bank to build greater cooperation with the private sector and state governments toward boosting agriculture in the country.
Jennifer Daniel
Before the coming on board of the present leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) headed by Mr. Godwin Emefiele, banks hardly lend to farmers, particularly, small holder farmers.
In fact lending to the Agricultural sector at the time was like throwing the money away because it was perceived as a high risk area. As a result, lending to the agric sector was a paltry 1.4 per cent of the country’s total lending. This is far below the lending ratios that apply in other high performing developing countries such as Brazil, Mali and Burkina Faso that lend over 10 per cent to agriculture as a percentage of their total loans.
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Hassan Ibrahim (Bauchi), Ibrahim Musa Giginyu & Sani Ibrahim Paki (Kano) The Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, has called for special prayers over inconsistent rainfall, which has delayed thousands of farmers in the state from planting their crops. This was disclosed in a statement signed by the public relations officer of the […]