By; KABIR WURMA, Birnin Kebbi.
Kebbi State government has demanded rice farmers in the state to pay back fifteen billion naira they shared under the Federal Government/Central Bank collaboration with the state loan scheme to encourage them participate in rice farming.
Deputy Governor of the state, Col. Sama’ila Dabai Yombe (rtd) who made the request through his Director Research and Documentation, Alhaji Aliyu Jajirma Kanya in a statement made available to newsmen in Birnin Kebbi, also urged the benefiting farmers to consider the loan as a honour done to them by the federal government, CBN and the state government in order to encourage them to participate fully in rice farming.
Col. Dabai in the statement directed all the twenty one local government sole administrators in the state to ensure compliance of the recovery of monies disbursed to their respective farmers immediately.
He added that the integrity of the people of the state is at stake for non payment of the loan, thereby appealing to all farmers who have benefited to refund, so that other farmers will similarly benefit from the scheme.
It noted that the state government is really committed to boosting agricultural activities and that was why farmers in the state got the highest disbursement from the scheme.
It would be recalled that President Buhari flagged off the anchor borrower scheme in Kebbi State where the state engaged over seven hundered farmers for the first time to participate in rice farming so that the nation could stop importing rice into the country.
