The Niger Government, in collaboration with the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), is targeting 600 farmers in the state for interest-free loans of N300,000 each.
The loans are being provided under the Federal Government’s Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).
Mr Hamza Baba, GEEP’s national programme manager, disclosed this on Saturday in Minna at the launch of the FarmerMoni enumeration exercise and training for GEEP desk officers from the state’s 25 local government areas.
Baba said the loans were designed to help small-scale farmers purchase agricultural inputs, improve productivity and increase output, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the trained desk officers would identify, register and verify eligible farmers involved in crop production, poultry, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture across the state.
The registration process will include digitally capturing farmers’ photographs, biometric data, National Identification Numbers (NINs) and farm locations to verify their identities and confirm their farming activities, he said.
Baba said each beneficiary would receive N300,000, repayable within one year. Repayments would begin six months after farming activities commence.
He added that the agency would monitor the use and repayment of the loans in collaboration with the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) and local government desk officers to ensure accountability and proper use of the funds.
Dr Ibrahim Inga, commissioner for humanitarian affairs and disaster management, described the initiative as a complementary federal government effort to support the state government’s poverty-reduction programmes.
Inga said the involvement of relevant stakeholders was intended to ensure transparency, due diligence and the selection of genuine beneficiaries.
Mrs Hauwa Mohammed, the governor’s special adviser on social investment programmes, said the exercise was part of the state’s efforts to implement GEEP, which comprises FarmerMoni, MarketMoni and TraderMoni.
Mohammed said desk officers had been provided with tablets to record farmers and their farmlands. She added that the exercise would help prevent fictitious beneficiaries from being included and ensure the loans reached genuine farmers across the state.
