By CrossRiverWatch Admin
The Bank of Agriculture has commenced the verification of rice farms of the beneficiaries of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Program in Cross River State.
Fidel Egoro, the Chairman of Rice Farmers’ Association of Nigeria in the state, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Calabar.
Egoro said that the site verification became necessary to ensure that the beneficiaries of the program were genuine rice farmers.
Egoro said: “The verification will take place across the 18 local government areas in the state to ascertain the true farmers in the scheme.
“Beneficiaries have to appear in their farms to show true ownership.
“This will enable the bank officials to see the real farmers and not politicians who disguise as farmers.
“The money is now available, but before the disbursement, the officials want to ensure that true farmers benefit from the program in order to achieve its purpose.”
Egoro stressed that the moneys to be disbursed to the beneficiaries were not grants but repayable loans.
He said: “So, that is why CBN and BOA want to ensure that genuine farmers benefit from the program to enable them to pay back the loans in due course.”
NAN reports that the beneficiaries had earlier been given rice seeds and inputs.