Farmers e-Naira Programme – CBN, Association Launch e-Naira Programme, Target 1m Farmers

Farmers programmable money agro e-Naira engagement has been launched by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Association of Northern Agricultural and Allied Commodities Practitioners (ANAACOP).

One million farmers in Northeastern states are the program’s primary target, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), for the 2023 growing season.

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, stated in Yola that the program was created to guarantee food security for the entire nation and the region.

The e-Naira, according to Emefiele, is the second digital currency to be introduced globally and the first in Africa.

She spoke on behalf of Hajiya Rakiya Muhammad, the Director of Information Technology and Coordinator of the CBN’s Naira program.

Emefiele praised the association and the program’s recipients and noted that it would make it easier for farmers to obtain affordable inputs for the tremendous advancement and transformation that technology and innovation would bring about.

According to him, the program in Adamawa is currently being tested on 50 farmers.

“But by the end of the year, we will scale up to one million farmers and another four million by 2024.

To encourage individuals who will be able to provide financing to those in need, the CBN governor said, “we are providing a platform where we can have accountability, transparency, and make the program efficient.

The Chairman of ANAACOP, Mr Sadiq Daware, praised President Muhammadu Buhari for the Anchor Borrowers Program run by the CBN.

According to him, the Naira program would benefit many farmers in the nation by reducing the need for middlemen and facilitating farmers’ access to credit and financial services in rural Northern Nigerian communities.

“Today, we are pleased to inform all Nigerians that ANAACOP, through the CBN, has got it right to ensure that farmers, particularly small-holder farmers, will get loans easily and without many problems by leveraging on the e-Naira program,” he said.

Daware reassured farmers that they wouldn’t look back in the end.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Malam Mijinyawa Mahmudu, Chairman of the Ribadu Farmers Group, praised the Federal Government’s interventions in the agricultural sector through CBN.

He also praised the organization for developing a program directly benefiting small-scale farmers.