By Maureen Agbala
The Anambra State Government has called for transparency and accountability in the identification of genuine farmers as it flagged off the FarmerMoni enumeration exercise for the South-East, aimed at building a credible database for the Federal Government’s agricultural support programme.
The exercise, held on Oct. 8 at Best Western Meloch Hotel, Awka, is being coordinated by the Anambra State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. It will help authorities identify eligible farmers, document their locations and farming activities, and improve the planning and delivery of agricultural support.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Chukwukadibia Okoye, stressed the need for accurate data to ensure that qualified farmers were identified and given fair consideration.
He assured that the state would collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure that eligible farmers in Anambra were not excluded from available intervention programmes.
The National Programme Manager of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Hamza Ibrahim Baba, explained that FarmerMoni was designed to provide eligible smallholder farmers with interest-free, collateral-free financing of up to ₦300,000 to support productive agricultural activities.
Baba clarified that the facility was not a grant, noting that beneficiaries were expected to use the funds for farming purposes and repay them in accordance with the programme’s terms.
He urged local government desk officers and enumerators to uphold professionalism and accountability, warning against favouritism and any form of discrimination based on political affiliation, religion or ethnicity.
He called on traditional rulers, community leaders and cooperative societies to mobilise genuine farmers, encouraging their participation in the exercise.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs. Chinyere Nwabachili, said the enumeration would cover all 21 Local Government Areas(LGA) of Anambra State.
She explained that the data collected would support beneficiary identification, programme monitoring and evidence-based planning for agricultural interventions.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Chinwe Achugbu, who represented the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Ben Chuks Odoemena, said FarmerMoni complemented the state’s existing agricultural support initiatives.
She called for effective collaboration among government agencies, local councils, farmer associations and other stakeholders to ensure that eligible farmers were reached.
The State Coordinator of GEEP, Ugonwa Onunze, commended Mr. Okoye for his supportive relationship with staff and expressed appreciation to Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo for providing an enabling environment for the exercise.
Speaking on behalf of fellow farmers, farmer representative Basil Iloegbunam pledged that participants would remain committed to genuine agricultural production rather than engage in what he described as “political farming.”
The exercise is expected to strengthen farmer identification and improve the targeting of agricultural financing, with transparency in the enumeration process remaining critical to ensuring that support reaches those who genuinely need it.
Maureen Agbala is of the Ministry of Information and Value Reformation, Anambra State
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