ibironkeeniola 
Cotton farmers under the aegis of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) have rated highly the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) after its positive effect on farmers across the country.
President of the association, Mr. Anibe Achimugu, described the intervention as the best agricultural programme launched so far.
He made this assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), while also urging the Federal Government to sustain the programme as well as its value chain strategy.
Achimugu extolled the benefits of the ABP, stating the programme has helped lift farmers via the provision of markets for their produce.
He said, “A farmer will not have to struggle to look for who will either buy his products or the pricing which is also considered in the ABP.
“In short, it’s like minimum guarantee price for the farmer who only has to essentially decide what crop he needs to plant.
“Informed planting decision is important to the farmer, because with the market and pricing in place, farmers will keep on farming a particular crop as well as keep them coming back.”
He further stated that the introduction of the scheme has helped tackle import dependency, as it is seen as a total overhaul of the agricultural sector, and the cotton value chain in particular.
According to him, the ABP cotton seed intervention in 2019 has helped the farmers in no small measure, as the farmers have already produced beyond the capacities of textile mills in the country.
Recall that the ABP had targeted no fewer than 100,000 cotton farmers to boost local production and the processing of cotton, last year.
The intervention had also targeted the processing of about 414,000 metric tonnes of seed cotton via ginning companies and textile mills.
Achimugu commended the Central Bank of Nigeria for linking personnel of the armed forces and the paramilitary into the programme.
Fabrics from Nigerian cotton are now directly sourced by organisations, the NACOTAN president added.
He, therefore, called for the sustenance of the programme, noting that it would help improve the economy and lives of Nigerians in general.
SOURCE: AGRONIGERIA