There have been some unresolved issues and allegations surrounding the implementation of CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme between the Apex bank, the lender and the beneficiaries, the farmers. PADIO PHINEAS digs deeper into the issues in this revealing investigation.

BASED on his enlistment as one of the beneficiaries of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Program in Adamawa State for the 2020 wet planting season, James Ezra, had high hopes regarding his newfound occupation. He looked forward to a good harvest during the year as a cotton farmer, especially having been enlisted as a member of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN).

According to the Economics Of Production (EOP) issued by the CBN, each of the 256,000 smallholders farmers captured under the programme nationwide to cultivate cotton for the 2020 wet season was allocated N158,502 (in kind and cash) per hectare; to be disbursed through the Anchor and Unity Bank.

The tabular breakdown of the EOP, indicated that each farmer would be allocated 25kg of cotton seeds, five bags of fertilizer, 12 liters of assortment of agrochemicals, a knapsack sprayer and 30 empty bags for harvest. The sum of N30,000 was also earmarked for mechanised land preparation and another N30,000 for sundry services on the farm leading to harvest.

Furthermore, the guidelines for the programme shows that upon harvest, benefiting farmers are expected to repay their loans with harvested produce (which must cover the loan principal and interest at 9 percent rate).

However, contrary to Ezra’s expectations of the support that would have boosted his cultivation, he told Nigerian Pilot that he was given only 25kg of seeds, two liters of chemicals and a knapsack sprayer. He said he was not given the promised money and fertilizer.

“Even at that, we got these items after parting with N5,500, paid to NACOTAN as registration fees, besides personally spending over N10,000 transportation fare going forth and back, in an effort to access the inputs”, he alleged during a visit to his farm in Jabbi-Lamba, under Girei local government area of Adamawa state.

NACOTAN chairman in the state, Sale Mohammed Gbalang admitted charging members N5,500, saying, “It’s true our members have paid N5,000 each for membership registration and N500 service charge for officers who will handle disbursement of inputs from the store.” On the delayed supply of fertilizer, Ezra said, “as you can see the farm yourself, it is already at the flowering stage, and today being the 8th of September, 2020, we are yet to see either fertilizer or chemicals for pest control”.

He alleged further, “For me, I can say without mincing words that we were tricked into the program for the benefit of some people. Yes, I make bold to say without any fear of contradiction that the program is not to help smallholder farmers as claimed; but we leave them to God.”

Ezra’s one-hectare cotton farm looked scourged and in need of fertilizer and under heavy pest attack when the reporter visited the farm. Given the look of the crops, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to get a reasonable harvest. This is because the crops have already formed balls with flowers opening. Ezra is one of the beneficiaries of the revolving loan for smallholder farmers of the program in Adamawa, Gombe and Taraba who claimed that they did not get all they were supposed to be given.

President Muhammadu Buhari, had in November 2015 launched the ABP under CBN to provide farm inputs in kind and cash to smallholder farmers in the country.

CBN’s Director, Development Finance Department, Yila Yusuf, explained that the bank was trying to bring back the glory of textiles of those days where the industry used to employ 10 million people across the country.

Gbalang told our reporter that 27,000 farmers were mobilized for the wet planting season. And going by the EOP, N3,170,040,000, was allotted to the state. During the flag-off of distribution witnessed by our reporter in Numan local government area in early May, farm inputs as indicated in the EOP were distributed accordingly, but to about fifty farmers only. As it was explained, the general distribution would continue in the coming week.

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/anchor-borrowers-scheme-and-dashed-hope-of-cotton-farmers-in-adamawa/