>
A total of 30,000 rice farmers have been targeted for the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme 2017 dry season rice farming in Sokoto state.
Chairman, Sokoto state Committee on Immediate Framework on Agriculture, Alhaji Chiso Abdullahi disclosed this at a town hall meeting on the programme.
Abdullahi who is also Chairman of the Project Monitoring Team on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme disclosed that the state government had purchased 5000 water pumps worth N235 million for sale to rice farmers at subsidized prices.
According to him, each water pump was bought at N47,000 and which would be sold to farmers at N10, 000 each.
Abdullahi added that the state government had donated 5000 bags of 100 kilogrammes of rice seeds to the farmers.
He noted that the gesture would boost food security, curb poverty, unemployment and restiveness.
The former Sokoto state Deputy Governor lauded commitment of the state government and the CBN to the programme.
Also speaking, Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Bello Nagwari, pledged that similar support and assistance would be extended to all other farmers in the state.
The commissioner who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Garba Sarkin-Kudu, said efforts were on to tackle problems bedevilling the agricultural sector in the state.