Some farmers in Gombe State have accused the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and the state Ministry of Agriculture of distorting the government agriculture loan facility under the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
Secretary of the All Lower Farmers Association (ALFA), Mr. Sani Idris, expressed the grievances of the farmers when he addressed journalists in Gombe on Friday.
He said both the bank and ministry introduced into the scheme conditions that are at variance with what the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) told them about it.
He said although they were promised a total package of N300,000, “the bank (BOA) said they would give us N110, 640 in farm inputs and N75, 000 cash.
“Even the inputs, they made their own business because fertilizer is N5, 500 in the market but they force us to take it for N8, 000 each bag.
“Rice bag is N1,000 per 50kg bag, and they force us to take it for N2, 000; insecticide in the market is N1, 500, they force us to take it at N2, 500 and empty bag in the market is N80, but they also force us to take it at N150. And we don’t know the reason for the deduction of another N3, 640,” alleged the farmer.
The farmers urged the Federal government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intervene and help them recover the extra charges they had been made to pay to secure the loans and to secure the facility as intended by the Federal government.
According to Idris, the farmers’ trouble started when the state “Ministry of Agriculture demanded N10, 000 registration fee from every farmers’ cooperative group under ALFA, N20,000 for consultancy, and another N20,000 collected by the surveyor officer.”
He further alleged that BOA made each farmer pay N3,000 to open individual account with the bank and N300 for the loan disbursement form.
Idris said the bank went on to demand “an unexplained down payment” of five per cent of the N250,000 loan, amounting to N12,500.00, as a result of which just over 3,000 of them were able to pay.
He said after all the deductions, each member of ALFA would be receiving N185, 640 as against the N300,000.00 or N250,000 they were expecting.
The ALFA secretary said each farmer was charged N71,500 for land clearing, ploughing and harrowing, fertilisers application, harvesting and transportation of rice paddy.
The BOA Manager in the state, Mr. Adamu Idris, declined comments, saying only the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Dahiru Biri, who heads the committee could comment.
The commissioner however explained that the loan, which was delayed for nine months, was slashed from the proposed N300,000 meant for dry season farming to N250,000 because the amount earmarked for water pumps was deducted.
He said the package was an inputs and cash loan, but that the cash aspect does not include various services for which BOA was charging N71,500.
Biri further confirmed that the credit facility, which would be repaid by the farmers through exchange of farm produce after harvest, was obtainable at a nine per cent interest rate.
According to him, the bank got the loan from the CBN at two per cent interest rate.