As part of the efforts to ensure food security in the country, the Association of Northern Agricultural and Allied Commodities Practitioners (ANAACOP), in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has inaugurated farmers’ programmable money “agro e-naira” engagement. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who was represented by the Director, Information Technology and Coordinator Naira programme of CBN, Hajiya Rakiya Muhammad said in Yola that, the e-Naira was the first digital currency to be launched in Africa and second in the world.
While congratulating the association and beneficiaries of the programme, he explained that it would help farmers access affordable inputs for tremendous progress and transformation as a result of technology and innovation. He said that at the moment, 50 farmers were targeted, to test run the programme in Adamawa. It is, however, expected that by the end of the year, it’d scale up to one million farmers and another four million by 2024. “So what we are doing is providing a platform where we can have accountability, transparency and make the programme efficient to encourage people, who will be able to provide finance to those who need it”, he added.
The Chairman of ANAACOP, Mr. Sadiq Daware on his part, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the Anchor Borrowers Programme established through the CBN. He stated that the programme would assist a lot of farmers in the country and today, the Naira programme would reduce intermediaries and provide easy access to credit and financial services for farmers in rural communities of Northern Nigeria. “Today, we are happy to inform all Nigerians that ANAACOP, through the CBN, has gotten it right to make sure that farmers, particularly the smallholders farmers, will get loans at ease with little or no hitches leveraging the e-naira programme”, he said. The Chairman, Ribadu Farmers Group, Malam Mijinyawa Mahmudu, who spoke on behalf of beneficiaries, appreciated the Federal Government’s interventions in the agriculture sector through the CBN while lauding the association for coming up with a programme that would have a direct impact on small-scale farmers.
Miss. Esther Olibamoyo speaking with FarmingFarmersFarms on her palm oil processing business.
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