The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that, Ogun State has become a template for other states in the country for Cassava production.
The Head, Development Finance of CBN in Abeokuta, Dr. Oluyemisi Olukoya stated this on Friday at a town hall meeting with stakeholders on the Ogun State Anchor Borrowers Programme organized by Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture.
Dr. Olukoya said the Central Bank is assisting farmers with credit loan for them to invest in their farm and yield more harvest with higher profit.
She enjoined stakeholders to support the state government to ensure the success of the programme, urging them to return the loan to stand a better chance of getting more loan in future.
She said, “The Anchor borrowers programme is a programme that was launched in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari and the objective is to make credit available to farmers at single digit interest rate, also a means of reducing import rate of food items, create employment and assures the famers of higher income.
“In Ogun State, we are working with the support of the state government under the community association window and this is a loan, not a grant and a loan is meant to be repaid so they should endeavour to put in their very best, and pay back the money to stand a chance to get more loan and cassava in Ogun, CBN is using Ogun state as a model for cassava revolution in Nigeria and all stakeholders should should ensure success of this.”
Speaking earlier, the Special Adviser to Ogun State Governor on Agriculture, Dr. Adeola Odedina explained that, the meeting was to provide market for the farmers and link them with industries that will take off their farm produce for food security in the state.
Odedina noted that, the essence of the meeting was to introduce the state government programme on Agriculture to promote employment and provide raw materials to the industries through the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He said the Anchor Borrowers programme would provide loan for farmers to invest on their farm through the stakeholders approval while the state government would provide the infrastructure and enabling environment.
