Gombe Farmers Get N660m CBN Grant

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Farmers in Gombe State who require funds to enable them expand their production of rice and tomato are presently in happy mood.

This is because the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the sum of N660 million to them and would be ready for disbursement very soon.

The N660 million was approved by the apex bank under its Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.

In fact, disbursement of the grant to the first and second batch of the beneficiaries would begin next week.

The scheme had experienced delay in the state as a result of duplication of bank accounts details and Bank Verification Number (BVN) by the applicants, which has now been sorted out. Over 3000 cases were identified by the central bank during the process.

Speaking at a two-day fair and workshop for stakeholders in Gombe State on Thursday, Head of Development Finance Department of CBN, Gombe branch, Mr Sani Muhammad Chobe, stressed that the grant was specifically approved for the production of rice and tomato.

Mr Chobe assured the farmers that the apex bank would continue to finance agriculture in the state. He told the gathering that grant for the third batch of beneficiaries in the state was being processed.

Also speaking at the event organised by the CBN, representative of the Consumer Protection Department, Mr Fada Banon, noted that 2010 to date, the CBN has received a total of 9,600 complaints from customers ranging from excess charges, fraud and ATM card related issues, adding that N51 billion has been refunded to customers after reviewing the applications.