Anchor borrowers: How BVN sold farmers away

The introduction of Biometric Verification Number ( BVN) is no doubt a technology deployed by Federal Government (FG)to  ensure identifying and verifying all individuals that have account(s) in any Nigerian bank, and consequently a means of authenticating customer’s identity at the point of transactions. Farmers under agricultural Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must be fully aware of this with all consciousness of mind in order to ensure payback of the loan.

CBN anchor borrower financial support to some group of farmers to boost food productivity and also checkmate foreign exchange being expended on foods importation is an effort we must sincerely commend even at some of its observed hiccups, it must be seen as an asset that must be jealously guided by the beneficiaries for continuity to many other farmers that are waiting to benefit. We want to suggest that CBN thoroughly investigates all areas that need to be improved upon on this credit facility for better service delivery with all consciousness of righteousness because that is what will exalt a nation. Loans must be given to ensure timely planting, and thereby ensuring credit being given when planting season is not yet over.

We must emphasize to farmers who are beneficiaries that the credit facility being extended to ensure improved food productivity and expansion of agricultural development must be seriously utilized to ensure repayment. Importantly, farmers must have it at the back of their minds that their BVNs have sold them out with all necessary information of recovery, and therefore they must endeavor to ensure paying back as the technology will not spare them from been traced for repayment especially in the days of a new King who may not want to know Joseph. There is no reason anybody should take a loan for any particular crop when its planting season may have come and gone.

The story that flies around that the ABP of the CBN is another bonanza for farmers must be outrightly erased from farmers’ consciousness so as to register all precautions to make repayment being pursued and upheld. Those agricultural commodity associations that have benefitted from the CBN anchor borrow must wake up from their slumber and ensure repayment for others to benefit. They must not see the credit facility as live and let others die, but rather a veritable revolving loan that will benefit all others through repayment.

We cannot continue doing things in a wrong way and expect any magic development, it is time for farmers to understand that development comes with a prize of consciousness by keeping to the rule of the loan repayment for continuity and opportunity for others.

This call is to all farmers in order to ensure that the loan opportunity by CBN particularly in the ABP must be repaid, while the apex bank too must be up and doing in their service delivery to ensure time limit delivery to planting. The food security of our nation is a task that must be done with all righteousness by all and sundry.