The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved N660 million as loans for 3,479 farmers in Gombe under its Anchor Borrowers Programme.
Malam Sani Chobe, Head of Development Finance, Gombe State office of CBN, disclosed this in Gombe on Thursday at a sensitisation workshop organised to enlighten the public on the activities of the bank.
He said that the amount approved was for the first and second batches of rainy season farmers who applied for the funding.
According to him, the money will be disbursed via the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) as from next week.
He said that the disbursement of the funds, which ought to have started earlier, was delayed due to multiple registrations by some farmers.
He said that the compilation of the third batch of beneficiary farmers, who were dry season farmers, was almost completed.
In his speech, Mr Isaac Okarafor, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, CBN, urged the public to patronise and consume made-in-Nigeria products.
He noted that vast arable lands existed in Northern Nigeria, adding, however, that the lands had yet to be fully utilised.
“This is the right time for us to make use of what we have, following the Federal Government’s plan to diversify our economy,’’ said.
Alhaji Manu Swa, the Gombe State Commissioner Gombe State Ministry for Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, who declared the workshop open, commended the CBN for the workshop, saying that it was timely.
“The workshop will make people to know more about the bank’s activities,” he said.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that more than 200 cooperative and farming groups attended the workshop. (NAN)