Over 94,000 farmers mostly youths have benefited from the federal government’s Anchor Borrowers programme on cotton farming in Kano and Jigawa states.
A statement by the spokesperson of the beneficiaries, Yusuf Alhaji, said the breakthrough was as result of painstaking effort of the National Vice President of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), Alhaji Munzali Dayyabu Taura, who launched a sensitization campaign encouraging youth participation in the agric scheme.
He said: “out of the 151,000 beneficiaries of the cotton Anchor Borrowers across 28 states, Kano and Jigawa alone have 94,000 beneficiaries, courtesy of the dedication and determination of the NACOTAN Vice President Alhaji Munzali Dayyabu Taura.”
The beneficiaries said the zeal and passion exhibited by the NACOTAN Vice President in carrying out his duties “has tremendously helped in bringing the youth to embrace the scheme, thereby economically empowering about 100,000 of in Kano and Jigawa states.”
The statement said many Kano and Jigawa youths embraced cotton farming scheme of President Muhammadu Buhari administration “largely because one of the key people entrusted with the implementation of the scheme is the NACOTAN Vice President who is also a youth. The youth seamlessly synched with one of their own.”
The farmers said the cotton Anchor Borrowers recorded successes in Kano and Jigawa particularly because more youths are involved because of the exemplary leadership of the NACOTAN Vice President who is also a youth.
The beneficiaries urged President Buhari to continue to give priority to agriculture because of it is the mainstay of the northern economy, while urging the youth across the country to embrace agriculture instead of chasing unavailable white collar jobs.
