The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin
Emefiele, has expressed satisfaction with the high level of interest in the
Nigerian agricultural sector and the impact across value chains in the past six
years.
The CBN governor made the remarks at the weekend during the
inspection of a palm plantation at Odighi, Ovia North East Local Government
Area of Edo State, over the weekend.
While addressing journalists, Emefiele commended President
Buhari’s foresight in revamping the agricultural sector with the CBN playing a
major role.
He said with the rising cost of food across the globe,
Nigeria would have been in dire circumstances if proactive measure had not been
taken.
He expressed delight that the Bank had assumed a pivotal
role since 2015 upon the pronouncement by President Muhammadu Buhari that
Nigerians produce what they eat and eat what they produce.
He said following that pronouncement, the bank had come up
with several initiatives aimed at repositioning the sector with a view to
creating employment opportunities as well as growing the gross domestic product
(GDP) of the country.
On his assessment of the farm in Odighi, Emefiele, expressed
optimism that palm produce harvests would commence in the next 12 months.
The CBN Governor who was visibly elated by the strides being
recorded in the production of maize and cassava at the farm acknowledged the
significant role played by the Edo State Government.
He thanked Governor Godwin Obaseki immensely for matching
words with action by making available arable land to those who are genuinely
interested in agriculture and appealed to other State Governors to emulate Edo
state which had so far, made available about 70 per cent of the promised arable
land.
On the socio-economic impact of CBN interventions, Emefiele
hailed the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), which he noted revolutionized
agricultural practice by providing credit facilities, in the form of inputs
like seedlings, fertilizer and herbicides, to small holder farmers who cannot
approach commercial banks for loans.
“Those small holder farmers can now cultivate and produce
enough for their families and sell produce as loan repayment with ease, thereby
generating employment, improve living standards and create wealth
simultaneously,” he stressed.
Emefiele also commended Obaseki for promoting the
Agri-Allied Resources and Processing Limited and the company for heeding the
clarion call made by the CBN to source critical raw materials locally.
He noted that the company had painstakingly embraced
backward integration principle by acquiring farmland to the tune of 18,000
hectares for cultivation of oil palm, cassava and maize which are the critical
raw materials use by the group.
In his remarks during the visit, the Managing Director of
Agri-Allied resources, Mr. Madhukar Khetan hinted that the company had so far
accessed a ten-year loan for the project in the sum of N15 Billion, at single
digit interest rate with a two-year moratorium, under the Commercial
Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS). The farm currently has about one thousand
persons in its employ.
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