Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has provided farm inputs worth over N200,000 each as loan to about 16,000 Rice Farmers for the 2020 dry season farming in Taraba state.
The Taraba state Chairman of the association, Mallam Tanko Andami said during the distribution of the farm inputs in Jalingo at the weekend that the association is secured the loan through unity bank.
According to him the loan facility was guaranteed by the central Bank of Nigeria under its Anchor borrower scheme.
He said apart from the inputs, each beneficiary of the scheme will receive N60,000 cash from Unity Bank to take care of cost of labour in their rice farms.
The chairman stated that each beneficiary of the loan is expected to repay the loan after harvest.
He stated further that before the disbursement of the loan a consultant, Fair Global was engaged by the association which carried out mapping of members across local government areas of the state.
Alhaji Tanko explained that only those that were captured were given the loan.
He said this was the second time the loan was given to rice farmers in the state adding that the scheme had helped to boost rice production in the state.
The chairman revealed that with introduction of the Anchor borrower scheme farmers no longer take loan from middle men who change high interest rate.
He expressed satisfaction over the response of loan beneficiaries in repaying the loan granted to rice farmers last year.
