The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in Jigawa, said it would institute a legal action against its members, who failed to repay farm inputs loan they received under the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
Alhaji Adamu Maigoro, the RIFAN’s chairman in the state told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Hadejia on Tuesday that the association had already hired a lawyer to prosecute the case.
He said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the association, had in early 2018, distributed farm inputs worth N1.8 billion to 18,000 rice farmers in the state.
Maigoro, however, lamented that for more than one year after the inputs were distributed to the farmers, only N200,000 was recovered from them.
“The Federal Government has made it clear to us that unless we recover between 30 and 40 per cent of the amount given to us, Jigawa will not be included in the 2020 edition of the programme.
“Therefore, we have engaged a lawyer to compel our members through the court to pay back what they received, so that other farmers can benefit from the programme in the future,” the chairman said.
On the 2020 dry season farming, he said that the association had so far registered more than 5,000 rice farmers in the state.
Maigoro said the association had targeted 70,000 farmers for the dry season farming, which would begin in January.
The chairman said interested farmers must be nominated by the executives of the association at the ward, local government or the state level to benefit from the federal government’s programme.
He said for each hectare, a farmer would receive N237, 000 worth of inputs such as seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and sprayers. (NAN)
