The acting chairm of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in Taraba, Mallam Tanko Bobbo Andami, has disclosed that the 3,383 farmers that collected N364 million loan for rice farming in state have defaulted the payment.
In an interview with journalists Andami said they collected the loan for wet and dry farming in 2018 and 2019 but none of them refund any amount while many of them are on the run.
He further claimed that the federal government under its rice production programme release the loans through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to 3,383 farmers in the state through various multi-purpose co-operative societies.
It was learn that the loan beneficiaries were from Lau, Gassol, Wukari, Karim-Lamido, Ardo-Kila, and Jalingo local government areas of the state who were registered under 185 multi-purpose co-operative societies.
Andami said under the agreement of the loan, each beneficiary is supposed to repay the loan with paddy rice and money immediately after harvest.
The chairman said however “even a bag of paddy rice or single Kobo was not repaid by the entire 3,383 beneficiaries.”
He stated that the water pumps, seeds, weed chemicals, fertilizers and cash were given to the rice farmers as loans under the programme, but all of them have defaulted.
Andami said the action of the beneficiaries for defaulting payment was discouraging and will undermine federal government’s effort in boosting local rice production.
He added: “The federal government through the law enforcement agencies will soon go after the defaulting farmers and records of each beneficiary is available with Issuing Banks and therefore no farmer will go free.”
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