‘Political’ farmers killing FG’s Anchor Borrowers Programme – Expert

Aconsultant for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Professor Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), has said that one of the challenges currently bedeviling the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme is the influx of ‘political’ farmers.

His observation is coming at the time stakeholders in the agriculture and legal sectors are calling for a legal framework to tackle the challenges facing the programme.

The Anchor Borrowers Programme, which was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2015, is intended to create a linkage between anchor companies involved in the processing and small holder farmers (SHFs) of the required key agricultural commodities.

In his paper titled ‘Institutional Arrangements for Commodity Market Price Stabilisation Mechanism in Nigeria’, Professor Yemi AkinseyeGeorge (SAN), also mentioned corruption as another vice crippling the success of the programme.

“The objectives of the programme are laudable. However, in practicality, it has been observed that the small scale farmers have not been credited with the loans. The loans are majorly given to private individuals who don’t even have farms,” he said.

When asked how real farmers are to be differentiated from ‘political’ farmers, he said a solid legal framework will address the issue.

“This is why the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is calling for the legal framework to be put in place. The programme is currently being operated as a policy and we all know policies change with governments, but a legal framework is not transient.

“To identify real farmers, it has to be established that the said farmer has real farm lands and he is not just a consultant. Also, there is need to ensure that loans are not disbursed at states capitals, but on the field to see those with real farm lands. There is need for documentation of farmers. The target should always be the small and medium scale farmers as they are the ones that really need it,” he said.

Speaking further, Prof. AkinseyeGeorge said apart from the challenge of the influx of political farmers, corruption must also be checked if the programme is to succeed.

He said the legal framework is necessary to tie together the different components of the programme without making it too rigid.