Sesame seeds yet to list in the anchor program

 National President, Sesame Seeds Association, Alhaji Sheriff Balogun.

Despite the high demand for Nigerian sesame seeds across the globe, with a current global market of roughly $500m, currently generation over $700million annually with the production rate of Nigeria between 450-500 metric tons, the crop is yet to be enlisted on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Program (APB), according to the National President, Sesame Seeds Association, Alhaji Sheriff Balogun.

The health benefit gotten from the cash crop has made it the highest non-oil foreign exchange earner for Nigeria as it’s presently ahead of Cocoa and others in the international market, with over 26 sesame seeds-growing states in; Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Kebbi, Kogi,  Nassarrawa, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, yobe and Abuja, with Jigawa having the highest area of production, followed by Benue state, without being conscripted into  Anchor Borrowers Program of the CBN, thereby leaving the farmers to cater for themselves without any support.

Alhaji Sherrif Balogun explained that the association had tried twice to see how the  crop could join the Federal Governments ABP under the CBN, but stressed why is yet to the be listed in view of its economic potentials in terms of foreign earnings and job creation annually was still a thing of surprise to us as stakeholders. 

According to him ‘‘we have tried twice to see how we can have the crop on the Anchor Borrowers Program, but we are still not included, we are trying hard to see how we can be listed in this season as we have begun meeting with the Central Bank to see the possibility in order to harness more of its economic potentials’’.

It will be recalled that during the first ever International conference on sesame seed held last year in Kano, Food farm News reported the resolution from the event demanding that the CBN should enlist the crop in the ABP being among leading crops in terms of export earnings for the country.

Also speaking to Foodfarmnews, the desk officer, sesame seeds at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (FMARD) Mr. Ondachi Shaibu opined for synergy between his ministry, CBN and the association in order to better exploit the potentials of the crop for the economic benefit of the entire nation.