CBN offers N5bn soft loan to 10,000 Bauchi farmers for dry season farming

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set aside over N5.7 billion loan to 10,000 farmers to encourage dry season wheat farming in Bauchi state.

Saladu Idris, CBN Comptroller, Bauchi Branch, disclosed this on Thursday at the flag-off of the programme at the NUJ secretariat in Bauchi.

According to Idris, 4,500 farmers had so far benefitted in the state.

He said each farmer would be given N370,000 cash, six bags of urea, four bags of NPK fertiliser, pumping and spraying machines.

“This dry seasoning farming is a very easy thing that people can do. The CBN has observed that all the flour mills in Nigeria have become moribund; everything is at a standstill,” Idris said.

“It observed that wheat is imported into the country, and this requires the use of dollars which is difficult to access. It is as a result of this that the CBN decided to set aside some money to give farmers to encourage the farming of this wheat.

“Each farmer is supposed to get a minimum of N370,000 per hectare and the other inputs, which include the bags of seedlings, the six bags of urea, four bags of NPK, the pumping machine, and the spraying machine. All these were given to farmers per hectare.

“The total amount of money set aside by the Central Bank of Nigeria for wheat farming in Bauchi State alone is over N5.7bn. We have budgeted to fund 10,000 farmers. So far, we have distributed to about 4,500 farmers in Bauchi State.”

The comptroller, also noted that the new seedlings were brought in from Mexico and have a shorter time for cultivation, unlike the local one that takes a longer period.