The Federal Government through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) is set to improve the livelihoods of onion farmers across the country.

The ABP, pioneered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was launched to provide farmers with inputs to boost production.

Speaking on the government’s intention to propel onion production, CBN Agric Officer, Sokoto State, Alhaji Abdullahi Farouk, said that the scheme would uplift peasant farmers to become large scale onion producers.

He disclosed this last weekend, during the planting of high yielding onion seedlings in Tunga village, Rabba Local Government Area of Sokoto.

Farouk noted that the exercise would boost onion production capacity, as well as the confidence of the farmers, adding that onion farming is a market that must be explored.

He explained that the project would also bridge the supply deficit of the commodity while increasing its export potentials.

“With this programme, we hope to bridge the gap between the production of onions in Nigeria, which stands at about 1.4 million metric tons per annum,” he said.

The CBN Officer, however, explained the reason behind the choice of planting location.

According to him, the area has high yielding potentials, as the initial plan was to breed the seeds and distribute them to farmers who would then use them for production purposes.

“We have decided to come here, Tunga here which is to be the main production centre of seed planting all over this area from Kebbi to Sokoto states and even part of Niger Republic.

“We are aware that farmers come here to buy seeds and that is why we have chosen this location to come and breed the seed so that we can share to our farmers to get them what to do and get them out of poverty,” Farouk averred.

SOURCE: AGRONIGERIA