Wal Wanne to engage 250,000 farmers in Borno

The Wal Wanne Rice Farming (WWRF) Company in Borno State said it is set to engage 250, 000 farmers this year, under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ programme.

Each farmer would be loaned N256, 526.60 with farm inputs to cultivate a minimum of a hectare of rice field.

The Managing Director of Wal Wanne, Alhaji Abiso Kabir, who disclosed this while unveiling two rice pyramids at the Ramat Square, Maiduguri, said the rice pyramids was built with 33,000 bags of paddy rice produced by 18,000 farmers.

His words: “The CBN anchor borrowers’ farmers are drawn from 12 councils to cultivate 700 hectares of rice fields. Wal Wanne also registered 13,000 local farmers, with each producing seven to eight tons of paddy rice per hectare.

“With the successful implementation of the anchor borrowers’ programme, the imports of rice reduced by 80 per cent with the creation of more jobs for youths and women in the state.”

He urged the unemployed youths to embrace the scheme that could guarantee national food security and savings from foreign exchange, noting that the challenges of accessing Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) among rural farmers and insecurity of liberated communities may affect the expansion of the programme to create more jobs and food security.

The state Governor, Kashim Shettima applauded Wal Wanne’s farming initiatives for creating jobs for 18, 000 farmers.

He warned farmers against the diversion of CBN loans for any other purpose than the production of more rice, maize, wheat and sorghum.