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CBN records less than 10% percent loan recovery issued cotton farmers in Zamfara

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Zamfara State has the lowest loan repayment issued to cotton farmers in the state under CBN/Anchor Borrowers Programme, Alhaji Sani Dahiru, the state Chairman of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTTAN), has said.

He said that less than 10 per cent of the 4000 cotton farmers who benefitted from the loan had paid back.

Dahiru disclosed this in Gusau at the flag-off of inputs distribution to registered cotton farmers in the state for the 2020 wet season farming.

“Over 4000 registered cotton farmers from the state benefited from loan for cotton farming inputs under the CBN/Anchor Borrower’s Programme in 2019.

“But unfortunately, we recorded less than 10 per cent recovery from the beneficiaries, which we consider as a serious setback.

“I am, therefore, appealing to registered cotton farmers in the state for 2020 wet season to utilise the inputs to be given to them judiciously and pay the loan at the stipulated time.

“You know, we try as much as we can in collaboration with the CBN to provide the inputs to farmers as early as possible this year.

“We have succeeded in this because we are flagging off the distribution of the inputs today”, Dahiru explained.

The chairman said NACOTTAN had registered 35,000 cotton farmers across the state, who are going to benefit from the 2020 wet season CBN/Anchor Borrower’s Cotton farming loan.

“Out of the number, 8000 would be taken care under NACOTTAN while the remaining 27,000 would be taken care of by the state government.

“We are hoping that this effort will go along way in enhancing federal government’s policy of reviving the country’s economic sector particularly, the textile industries in the country”, he added.

In a remark, the Head of Development Finance, Gusau CBN Branch, Malam Bashir Garba said the CBN/Anchor Borrowers Programme was initiated in 2015 as part of the federal government’s policy of diversification of the national economy through the non-oil sector.

Garba said the programme started with rice farming in 2015 which recorded various successes and later government introduced cotton, maize and other commodities.

“As we are aware, cotton farming has vital advantages in reviving the economy, that is why the federal government through CBN is giving serious concern to this programme.

“We are going to give a loan of farm inputs to farmers after which they pay us with cotton products after harvesting.

“The CBN in collaboration with NACOTTAN came up with a new arrangement to buy cotton products at a good price from farmers”, said by CBN official.

The National Secretary of NACOTTAN, Alhaji Hassan Buhari commended the state chapter of the association and CBN for early provision of inputs to farmers.

Buhari assured of maximum support by the National Secretariat of the association to the programme in order to boost cotton farming in the state.

He lamented oved the poor repayment rate of the loan earlier collected by farmers in the state and appealed to the new beneficiaries to ensure timely payment of the loan, in order to encourage the government to initiate more programmes to support farming.

“I am therefore calling on farmers to utilise the golden opportunity given to them by the federal government in order to boost farming activities in the state and the country in general”, he said.

The Federal Director of Agriculture in Zamfara, Dr Musa Raji commended the leadership of NACOTTAN in the state for working with all stakeholders to ensure the success of the programme.

Raji said the Federal Ministry of Agriculture was ever ready to partner with all stakeholders in enhancing farming activities in the state.

He said the federal government through the ministry had initiated various programmes to support farmer across the country.

The state Commissioner of Agriculture, Dr Aminu Sulaiman commanded the NACOTTAN for working in line with government’s policies to revive agriculture in the country.

Sulaiman, represented by the Director-General, State Directorate of Accelerated Cotton Development, Bashir Kwarenganuwa said the state government under Governor Bello Matawalle is partnering with the CBN and NACOTTAN to improve cotton farming in the state.

He noted that the state used to have 19 functional ginneries with over 4000 employers out of which 90 per cent are indigenes of the state.

“But today only five are working with only 40 workers; we are collaborating with CBN to support over 30 000 cotton farmers in the state.

“You know, governor Bello Matawalle during his electioneering camping promised to revive the agricultural sector with an emphasis on cotton production”, the commissioner explained.

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