Anambra State Government has released N1 billion loan to farmers in the state to boost food production. Governor Peter Obi announced the release at a meeting with stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

Obi restated the resolve of his administration to support farmers as critical agents in the transformation of agriculture to create employment for citizens.

“We want to reduce the volume of food coming into the state from outside drastically through expansion of the agricultural sector to enhance food security in Anambra State, ” he said.

The governor cautioned those he described as emergency or political farmers to steer clear, insisting that people who would have access to farming loan or any form of support must be real farmers.

In his remarks, Chief Nnamdi Mekor, the state’s Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, described the meeting as fruitful, saying that with the release of the loan, there would be agricultural revolution in the state.

“We will key into the agricultural agenda of government and reduce by half the amount of food coming from other places to the state,” Mekor said.

In his contribution, Mr Paul Mgbechi, the state’s Chairman of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, commended the governor for his commitment to the growth of the sector.

Mgbechi noted that the release of the money would boost agricultural activities in the state, adding that before the end of the year, the state would begin to produce more rice to other parts of the nation.