NIRSAL Bemoans Activities Of Middlemen, Promises Direct Loan Disbursement To Farmers

The Management of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), has alerted the public about the activities of fraudulent middlemen in the Agric loan sector who pose as “Leaders” of farmers and cooperatives with the intent to defraud the system.

In a statement signed by Anne Ihugba, Head, Corporate Communications, NIRSAL stated that these middlemen are among groups who did not meet the relevant criteria for participation in the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) through the NIRSAL PFI window, by filing up registers of “cooperatives” they formed with fake names and unidentifiable persons.

The statement added that some of these people are also so-called “farmers” who do not have farmlands.

The statement alleged that these group of persons and others claiming to be stakeholders or participants in various agricultural projects are currently orchestrating a vicious and well-funded campaign of disinformation and blackmail against NIRSAL.

It further alleged that these persons have been going round media houses with false claims that NIRSAL, itself a CBN-owned entity, is holding up funds released by the CBN under the ABP.

“It is interesting to note that the farmers who failed credit checks are the ones being used to mount these negative campaigns and protests. It is this latter category of “farmers” that are conniving with these so-called “aggregators” to confuse genuine farmers on the procedures and processes of accessing the CBN ABP facility.

“We also have information that some “aggregators” have fraudulently collected monies from farmers promising to deliver loan facilities through the CBN ABP and other NIRSAL funding windows.

“The objective of the campaign which is being waged on several media platforms is clear: to intimidate the corporation into releasing funds to unqualified and unverified entities under the NIRSAL window of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).”

NIRSAL said it has a mandate from the CBN to deploy its risk management mechanisms, its nationwide footprint, its partnership with Channel Partner Banks and its technical capacities to directly empower farmers by de-risking agriculture and facilitating agribusiness, with the ultimate objective of boosting agricultural productivity and food security in the country.

“In pursuit of this objective, NIRSAL has disbursed and continues to disburse ABP funds to tens of thousands of genuine and verified farmers across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT under the ABP. To make it easier for legitimate farmers to access approved funds, NIRSAL will continue to make direct disbursement to qualified farmers accounts, who have fulfilled all necessary conditions precedent to such support.

“The notion that NIRSAL, under undue pressure, will release monies meant for innocent smallholder farmers – most of whom are of low-income status in rural areas- to conscienceless middlemen, blackmailers and propagandists is antithetical to everything NIRSAL stands for and synonymous with CORRUPTION.

“We are by this notice alerting genuine farmers and farmer associations not to allow these dishonest elements who have become ubiquitous, to continue their nefarious activities to deprive you or your associations of legitimate credit support from the CBN and Federal Government under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.

“We are also alerting the media and public to the existence of these nefarious persons and groups through this disclaimer and urge anyone who is in doubt to reach NIRSAL through the contact information below for information.”