The Katsina State Government said on Wednesday that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had approved N1 billion for farmers in the state under its Agricultural Credit Scheme for the 2012 farming season.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Lawal Jari, announced this on Wednesday in Katsina after the State's Executive Council meeting.

Jari said that the government would stand as guarantor to the farmers and that the loan would be disbursed through a commercial bank to enhance agricultural activities in the state.

He advised farmers to form cooperative groups to enable them to enjoy the facility, adding that it would be repaid within five to seven years.

8,420 farmers benefitted from a similar scheme in 2011 with 7,933 beneficiaries repaying loans totalling N854.5 million during the period.

The commissioner said that the government would continue to accord agriculture top priority for the overall socio-economic development of the state "because more than 90 per cent of our people are farmers."

NAN