The Rice Farmers As
sociation of Nigeria (RIFAN) in Bayelsa, has warned farmers who have yet to register to do so or face sanctions.
The association’s state Chairman, Mr Ezekiel Ogbianko, gave the warning in an interview with newsmen in Yeangoa recently.
Ogbianko, who decried the influx of unregistered members into the association, said that RIFAN would not recognise anybody who was not duly registered.
“We do not want any fake farmers to be part and parcel of RIFAN and if we discover that you are not our member, you will definitely face the law of the land.
“Right now, the Federal Government wants to give us loan and we will make sure that we get the correct number of our members before and after disbursement of the loan.
“We have embarked on data collection and I believe the data will help us to know who are the real rice farmers in Bayelsa,” he said.
The chairman said that the loan would cut across the eight local government areas of the state.
“The loan is to encourage farmers to do well in commercial rice production, especially now that the Federal Government is planning to encourage mass food production,” he added.
