‘Let us know the farmers to whom CBN gave 37 billion naira’

Hon. Mohammed Magaji, Chairman Agric and Animal Husbandry Committee, Gombe State House of Assembly

Hon. Mohammed Magaji, Chairman Agric and Animal Husbandry Committee, Gombe State House of Assembly had an interview with FoodFarmNews where he emphasized that if we continue to talk without implementation of what have been discussed and recommended, it would amount to waste of time and energy, among other issues and also demanded transparency in the implementation of the Anchor Borrower Programme. Excerpts…

Please could you introduce yourself?

I am Hon. Mohammed Magaji, Chairman Agric and Husbandry Committee,  Gombe State House of Assembly and the National Publicity Secretary , All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN), so I am wearing a two caps here today.

Basically, we are here on the issue of pasture, farmers and pastoralists conflict, what is your take in the whole of this thing?

Honestly speaking, this program is timely and good based on the number of issues raised here that are very strategic to finding solution to our challenges in this sub sector. I believe all the people present also must have learnt one or two things here, particularly I as the member of Gombe House of Assembly and AFAN publicity secretary that must be impacted on our farmers. All the papers of yesterday and today I will collect.

 Importantly whatever is being discussed here must be implemented. This is the most important thing, if we continue speaking English without implementation of what have been discussed and recommended, it will amount to waste of time and energy. For this to be beneficial to our farmers, the decisions here must be implemented. Before now, I believe there are enough presentations and papers in the past (between 1997 and 2016). I believe if we had implemented what all these leaders our leaders in AFAN like Admiral Nyako, Dr. Shetima Mustapha, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, a present senate chairman on agriculture and current minister of agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh who have also been at the helm of affairs of farmers’ organization, Nigeria would have been in a much better ways. But without implementation, there is nothing that can happen. Therefore I implore that all recommendation here should be well implemented by the Minister.

Could you highlight some of the areas you want to be implemented based on what you have heard today in this NIAS event?

As a matter of fact, I want this kind of programme to take place in my state for the benefit of farmers. Before I go further I heard somebody saying something about NIRSAL and CBN Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP). And I believe many Nigerians cannot differentiate between this programme and Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS). 

The NIRSAL management should take time to differentiate these two credit windows under CBN. Secondly, they are talking about ABP; I believe this programme may be a failure if care is not taken. I am talking from the angle farmers as many states that have applied for the loan for dry season rice planting are yet to collect till date despite many preparations already put in place. Unfortunately about two days ago, I heard the CBN saying it has released to about 120 people at about N120,000-150,000 each thereby going to about 37 billion naira. Now as an association, we want to challenge the CBN to bring out the total list of people from one state to another that have benefited from the said amount. Look, the farmers cannot be blamed .We as farmers blame the higher authority as I believe they are not doing what they are supposed to do ab initio

Now, with this your swipe on CBN, there are also cases of farmers’ not paying back loan they have to taken in the programme so as to enable other people to get, what are you doing as an association to assist government in the recovery of these loan?

Look, there are two different things that are involved for you to release a loan to somebody that is not supposed to benefit from such credit. This means you have given loan to somebody who is not going use it for the purpose it  is meant for. Secondly maybe you have given a loan at a wrong time that may not be useful for planting. Now how do you expect a farmer that have applied since October-November dry season loan, and which has not gotten anything until the planting season is over. And you are now giving me loan when the planting season is over. 

What do you expect him to do?

But you have option not to take the loan as a business farmer?

No, no,  as you have already made me to start spending my money for one thing or the other. Even my expectation from you have made me to borrow money to prepare to do the job, and you then came with the loan late, so what do you expect me to do? 

Then the issue of paying the loan based on experience is that give the loan to AFAN, AFAN will never let you down. AFAN will do everything possible to get the money back to the bank. But get it clear, we still stand by our position that we want the CBN to release the names of individuals from one state to the other that have benefitted so as to ascertain the amount claimed by the bank.