CBN digitalises Anchor Borrowers Programme, enlists participating farmers

… spends N55bn so far
Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced a new technology to guide input distribution to farmers under its Anchor Borrowers Programme, which it has spent some N55 billon so far to execute and create several jobs.
The new scheme has seen biometric information of the farmers taken, their farms mapped and biometric cards produced for each farmer, to enable their easy identification during the distribution of inputs by the service producers.
CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Abuja, for this year’s dry season farming, said the pilot phase, which was flagged was to build a national database for small holder farmers, enhance efficiency of input distribution and eliminate ghost farmers.
Represented at the event by his Special Adviser on agriculture, Olatunde Akande, Emefiele said the service providers had already mapped all farmlands to be used for this season in order to avoid false claims by the participating farmers.
He noted that the Federal Capital Territory farmers would be used as pilot for the new innovation introduced into the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, and that the process will spread across several states, which have expressed interest to participate.
At the event flagged off by the governor, the input distributed included water pump, NPK fertiliser, organic fertiliser, urea fertiliser, and herbicide. The service providers equally provided tractors that would be used for ploughing and harrowing.
“All these inputs form part of the total loan due to the farmer, thereby eliminating the old ways of distributing cash directly to farmers,” the governor stated.
The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) of the CBN has entered another phase with the coming on board of board, members of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) .
Under the new arrangement unfolded yesterday, CBN credit facility to RIFAN would be digitalised both in inputs and credit facility.
Speaking in Abuja at a separate meeting with RIFAN executive, Akande, said the partnership with RIFAN remains key, noting that it would help in digitalising loan process for smallholder farmers.
He said the bank estimated that, an additional 2 million tons of rice would be added in to national rice production using digitalised mechanism, which would be made available to RIFAN members.
He said the collaboration would help in monitoring farmers closely by ensuring they get inputs, extension services and other incentives needed to achieve bumper harvests.
He said the bank would partner with other commodity associations like maize, cassava, millet, sorghum and other staple foods to provide employment, reduce food import, boost export and earn foreign exchange.
“The ABP started in November 2015. Under two years, we decided to upscale it. We’ve decided to collaborate with RIFAN but we’ll also partner with maize, cassava, sorghum, etc, using commodities associations,” he explained.
“They have structures at all levels. We want to provide mentoring, extension services, etc to farmers through them. We can now provide tractorisation and all that.
“It’s about the loan being well utilised. There is a guaranteed market for farmers under this programme. We’ve deployed seamless technologies to them. We’ve taken their biometrics and we have their contacts. Days of taking loans and inputs without accounting for them are over. In no distant time, we will attain food sufficiency and even export to earn foreign exchange”, he explained.
Akande also disclosed that under the ABP, all loans given to farmers are mandatorily insured by the Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC).
He added that each farmer gets N250,000 to cultivate one hectare of land for the dry season farming.
Responding, president of RIFAN, Aminu Goronyo said the Anchor Borrowers Programme has recorded huge success as he revealed that about five million farmers are to cultivate 200,000 hectares of land for rice.
“For two years, the ABP worked successfully as CBN/State governments’ programme. Now, it has graduated from government-government collaboration to government-private sector collaboration. We launched the pilot scheme in Gwagwalada, Abuja on Tuesday. Other states have launched today (Wednesday).It is tagged the RIFAN-CBN model.
“This collaboration is to put Nigeria on right track in agribusiness. Before 2015, it was operating on an analogue model, thus making monitoring and compliance very challenging. So, all that was done in agriculture was not detailed recorded.
“But with this, we’ve 500,000 farmers under this season’s farming. From this figure, we’ve 200,000 farmers for the dry season.
“With this new digitalized programme, I can, from my phone, reach all the farmers. It’s a global innovation. Farmers are now accessible, verifiable and the entire process reliable. Anyone coming to do business with us can access us and work with reliable data”, he explained.
Goronyo added that RIFAN has national working committees and six zonal offices and heads at both local government and ward levels.
He also disclosed that 32 states are currently onboard the ABP, revealing that Benue, Nassarawa, Enugu and Cross River States could not join this year’s farming season as could not tidy up their application and documentation before the deadline elaped.
“They couldn’t meet the time for applications and all. So, we’ve differed their participation till next wet season”, he added.