Edo State government on Tuesday launched the N2 billion Anchor Borrowers Programme to empower farmers in the state.
BusinessDay reports that the Federal Government and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) initiated agricultural programme was geared towards the diversification of the nation from oil to the non-oil sector.
Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who launched the programme in conjunction with CBN representatives in Benin City, said the programme was for jobs creation, reduction of food imports and diversification of the nation’s economy.
Oshiomhole, who disclosed that the N2 billion loan was guaranteed by the state government, noted that the only way for the country to be self-sufficiency was for governments to revisit the economy, create jobs, rebuild the rural economy and transfer prosperity to farmers.
According to Oshiomhole, the promise of this project, which the CBN is going to provide the funding, guaranteed by Edo State government with the aid of the Bank of Industry and one other commercial banks, is to go back to the basics, have the benefit of a modern approach to farming in a way that will give you greater yields and a ready buyer of that yield that will take the product to process so that we don’t export the way we did it before without adding value.
“That way, prosperity will return to the rural community. I need you to take this exercise very seriously. We are in trouble if many of our people are idle. We want Edo rice to return to Government House. So, this whole approach is to recognise that we cannot continue to depend on consuming India rice and India bread,” he said.
He said he decided to present the cheques to farmers before the end of his tenure.
