The Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN) has commenced its nationwide strategic meeting with maize farmers and stakeholders in a move to recover the Anchor Borrowers loan in the north.
The team, led by the national president Dr Bello Annoor Abubakar and other officials met with maize farmers to review the impact of the loan on food security, deliberate on loan repayment strategies and the way forward for maize farmers.
Dr. Abubakar noted that the objective of the loan was to support smallholder farmers to boost production and create jobs through agriculture.
While admonishing the state chairmen of the association on the importance of repaying the loans, the president said the loan has achieved a lot and farmers shouldn’t misuse the opportunity available.
According to him, the loan has gone a long way in ensuring Nigeria attains its national maize demands, increased the number of fertilizer blending plants and processing mills and significantly contributed to the growth of the country’s GDP.
Explaining the challenges, he said, “In some areas, farmers couldn’t go to the farm while in other places those who were able to farm were either made to pay high taxes to the insurgents and bandits, out rightly kidnapped for ransom or have their farms burnt despite paying what was demanded.
He said the late distribution of inputs to farmers and nonpayment of insurance claims by the insurance companies are some of the challenges faced by farmers, adding that despite all the challenges, loan must be repaid and the association has taken very strict measures to ensure full repayment of these loans.
The North East Zone coordinator, Development Finance Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr. Mahmood Nyako urged the association particularly the state Chairmen to seek realistic measures to repay the loans, Noting that for the anchor borrowers Programme to continue and be sustained the loans taken need to be repaid.
The representative of the Bank of Agriculture Kano Mrs Ummah Sanusi while appreciating the effort of the association called for ways of disabusing the mind of the farmers from thinking the loan is their share of Nigeria’s commonwealth.
She disclosed that the meeting has created a sense of hope as it shows the level of commitment of the association to repay the loans.
The branch manager, Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation, Bauchi State Mr Saboji Abbati, said the corporation partners with MAAN to ensure that farmers with genuine claims get paid promptly.
He further explained that what insurance refers to as genuine claims are simply proper documentation adding that the corporation recently paid claims to farmers in the state to the tune of one hundred and twenty six million Naira.
