By Abdallah el-Kurebe
Rice farmers registered for the CBN/RIFAN-Anchor Borrowers Programme in Sokoto state have begun receipt of inputs for the dry season farming.
The Distribution which began with the identification and screening of the farmers in Gwadabawa, headquarters of Gwadabawa local government will see about 17,000 rice farmers benefitting from the programme across the state this season.
The farmers water pumping machines and accessories, sprayer and accessories, two bags of NPK and Urea fertilizer per hectare, herbicides, liquid fertilizers and 25 Kg of rice seeds.
The Chairman of Sokoto state RIFAN, Alhaji Ibrahim Salihu in a telephone conversation called for additional collection centres in order to ease farmers transportation problems as well as fast-track the distribution process.
Officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Agriculture (BoA), Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) and RIFAN, who form the Programme Management Team (PMT) were involved in the distribution process.
Some of the beneficiaries expressed appreciation over the support and pledged to utilize the inputs to increase their yields.
The farmers commended the federal government for the support, saying it would enhance their livelihood and boost food production.
The distribution would also be conducted in other distribution centres identified by the PMT.
