Post by Trade facilitator on Mar 10, 2023 11:02:08 GMT 1
SHOKING: Fake Farmers Benefitting From Anchor Borrowers’ Programme – The All Farmers Association Of Nigeria (AFAN)
- The Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS) is Nigeria’s foremost convocation of the agricultural sector and agro-allied stakeholders. The summit was first held in 2017 in Lagos, Nigeria.
The All Farmers Association of Nigeria, recently, said that most beneficiaries of the billions of naira released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under its Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) were not Nigerian farmers. This is a big shock for this type of statement to come from the umbrella organization of all farmers in the country.
Although the CBN kicked against this claim, AFAN argued that the apex bank was finding it tough to recover the loans because the funds were disbursed to individuals who were not into farming and not captured in the Database of the Association.
The National Secretary, AFAN, Yunusa Yabwa, disclosed this to journalists in Abuja while speaking on the sidelines of an event to announce the recently concluded Feed Nigeria Summit.
“The Anchor Borrowers Programme was a laudable programme by this administration, but in every programme of this nature there must be challenges,” he said.
Yabwa added, “Our members have benefited from the programme, but most people who have benefited from the ABP are not Nigerian farmers. I must confess that to you.
“That is why you see today that the CBN, NIRSAL, commercial banks, who were the channels for the distribution of this fund, are complaining that these beneficiaries are not repaying the loans.”
He said most persons who got the loans could not be accounted for by AFAN, stressing that the association had asked CBN to provide the names of the debtors but the apex bank had not been able to comply.
But CBN spokesperson, Osita Nwanisobi, told our correspondent that the claims of AFAN were far from the truth and should be jettisoned.
“That is totally false. Did he give you any evidence to show that those who benefitted from the programme were non-Nigerians? The ABP is a programme that is well established. The offices of rice farmers’ president and officials are well known, as well as those of other commodity associations,” he said.
The Federal Government in 2015 activated the ABP scheme under the CBN, which was geared towards providing farmers with the critical funds and inputs needed to increase local production.
Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS)
What is the Feed Nigeria Summit?
The Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS) is Nigeria’s foremost convocation of agricultural sector and agro-allied stakeholders. Since its inception, the event has served to provide a platform for players in the agro-allied ecosystem to proffer solutions to the challenges bedeviling Nigeria’s emergence as an African agricultural powerhouse while also showcasing the opportunities within the sector.
The Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS) 2017, the first in its annual series, was held in Lagos, Nigeria.
It was a high level convocation, tagged “Feed Nigeria, To Feed Africa.” It was organized by Agro Nigeria, an agricultural mouthpiece, in collaboration with its partners, to create a platform for strategic engagement between the government, private sector players and various development communities as well as an initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Speaking at the event, the chairman of Agro Nigeria, Elder Edem Ekwo, noted that the FNS was convened to critically address the challenges of agriculture in the country and proffer workable solutions to them.
The then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was represented by Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, who gave the opening speech.
The president of AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, in a goodwill message, noted that Nigeria was well-positioned in the matrix of feeding Africa sustainably.
He commended the organizers of the event, stating that it was the first of such Feed Africa Summits at country level across the continent and provided an excellent platform for discussing how to further ramp up support for agriculture as a business.
Adesina restated AFDB’s resolve to transform rural economies in Africa through agriculture value chains to create market opportunities for farmers.
He urged governments to provide incentives for food and agribusiness companies to locate in rural areas and establish staple crop-processing zones (SCPZ) which are vast agro –industrial zones to support food industries to be established in order to reduce the cost of doing business, create a huge market pool for farmers and cut post-harvest losses.
The SCPZs will also transform rural Africa into new zones of economic prosperity, he noted.
An official, Mohammed Kagu, said the Central Bank of Nigeria has mandated the creation of agribusiness departments in banks to bridge the gap between them and farmers.
Addendum:
Our company is one of the best companies in the Agro-Export business in Nigeria today. We train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Export Business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now for further details.
- The Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS) is Nigeria’s foremost convocation of the agricultural sector and agro-allied stakeholders. The summit was first held in 2017 in Lagos, Nigeria.
The All Farmers Association of Nigeria, recently, said that most beneficiaries of the billions of naira released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under its Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) were not Nigerian farmers. This is a big shock for this type of statement to come from the umbrella organization of all farmers in the country.
Although the CBN kicked against this claim, AFAN argued that the apex bank was finding it tough to recover the loans because the funds were disbursed to individuals who were not into farming and not captured in the Database of the Association.
The National Secretary, AFAN, Yunusa Yabwa, disclosed this to journalists in Abuja while speaking on the sidelines of an event to announce the recently concluded Feed Nigeria Summit.
“The Anchor Borrowers Programme was a laudable programme by this administration, but in every programme of this nature there must be challenges,” he said.
Yabwa added, “Our members have benefited from the programme, but most people who have benefited from the ABP are not Nigerian farmers. I must confess that to you.
“That is why you see today that the CBN, NIRSAL, commercial banks, who were the channels for the distribution of this fund, are complaining that these beneficiaries are not repaying the loans.”
He said most persons who got the loans could not be accounted for by AFAN, stressing that the association had asked CBN to provide the names of the debtors but the apex bank had not been able to comply.
But CBN spokesperson, Osita Nwanisobi, told our correspondent that the claims of AFAN were far from the truth and should be jettisoned.
“That is totally false. Did he give you any evidence to show that those who benefitted from the programme were non-Nigerians? The ABP is a programme that is well established. The offices of rice farmers’ president and officials are well known, as well as those of other commodity associations,” he said.
The Federal Government in 2015 activated the ABP scheme under the CBN, which was geared towards providing farmers with the critical funds and inputs needed to increase local production.
Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS)
What is the Feed Nigeria Summit?
The Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS) is Nigeria’s foremost convocation of agricultural sector and agro-allied stakeholders. Since its inception, the event has served to provide a platform for players in the agro-allied ecosystem to proffer solutions to the challenges bedeviling Nigeria’s emergence as an African agricultural powerhouse while also showcasing the opportunities within the sector.
The Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS) 2017, the first in its annual series, was held in Lagos, Nigeria.
It was a high level convocation, tagged “Feed Nigeria, To Feed Africa.” It was organized by Agro Nigeria, an agricultural mouthpiece, in collaboration with its partners, to create a platform for strategic engagement between the government, private sector players and various development communities as well as an initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Speaking at the event, the chairman of Agro Nigeria, Elder Edem Ekwo, noted that the FNS was convened to critically address the challenges of agriculture in the country and proffer workable solutions to them.
The then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was represented by Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, who gave the opening speech.
The president of AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, in a goodwill message, noted that Nigeria was well-positioned in the matrix of feeding Africa sustainably.
He commended the organizers of the event, stating that it was the first of such Feed Africa Summits at country level across the continent and provided an excellent platform for discussing how to further ramp up support for agriculture as a business.
Adesina restated AFDB’s resolve to transform rural economies in Africa through agriculture value chains to create market opportunities for farmers.
He urged governments to provide incentives for food and agribusiness companies to locate in rural areas and establish staple crop-processing zones (SCPZ) which are vast agro –industrial zones to support food industries to be established in order to reduce the cost of doing business, create a huge market pool for farmers and cut post-harvest losses.
The SCPZs will also transform rural Africa into new zones of economic prosperity, he noted.
An official, Mohammed Kagu, said the Central Bank of Nigeria has mandated the creation of agribusiness departments in banks to bridge the gap between them and farmers.
Addendum:
Our company is one of the best companies in the Agro-Export business in Nigeria today. We train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Export Business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now for further details.