The Governor Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele has described the current scarcity of foreign exchange confronting the country as good riddance, saying local production of various essential goods are now being given top priority.
Emefiele said this during a tour of the farmlands cultivated under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme in Kebbi State over the weekend. He stated that the commitment of stakeholders and the expected output from Kebbi State alone had proved critics of the central bank’s policy measures wrong.
In a statement from the CBN, Emefiele, who was full of praise for the farmers and the Kebbi State Government for their determination and commitment, said that with the level of success attained under the pilot project in the state, in addition to what he saw at the Sunti Golden Sugar Estate in Niger State recently, it was becoming more of a reality that the country can produce enough food to feed itself and even export in no distant future.
The CBN governor held the view that with agriculture being the bedrock of genuine economic growth of any nation, Nigeria could not be an exception.
“As such, Nigeria with large expanse of arable land ought not to be spending huge amounts of money importing food items at the expense of other competing needs,” he added.
Emefiele stated that the success recorded by the rice farmers in Kebbi State has rekindled hope in the ability of Nigeria to be self sufficient in rice and wheat production, adding that with the sum of N210,000 granted to each farmer, they were able to cultivate a hectare of rice.
He disclosed that 78,581 farmers were mobilized in the state under the Anchor Borrowers Programme. The farmers are already looking forward to a total of one million metric tonnes of rice this year, he added.
Speaking further on what the programme has been able to achieve, the CBN governor stated that with the disbursement of N4.9 billion as loans to the farmers, over 570,000 direct jobs had been created with the multiplier effect that, 70,871 rural farmers now own and operate bank accounts and are captured under the Bank Verification Number (BVN) biometric project, adding that the timely supply of inputs to 73,001 farmers was achieved.
According to Emefiele, the performance of the programme also vindicated the stance of the central bank that with the right incentives and the necessary support, Nigerian farmers would be able to fill whatever gaps that exist between the demand and supply of agricultural products like rice, wheat, cotton and palm produce.
No comments