At the flag-off of the 2020 wet season harvest aggregation and 2020 dry season input distribution under the CBN-Rice Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme on Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria made a great display of rice pyramids.
The display, coming about three months after such an exercise in Niger State was part of the fifth anniversary of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).
Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele said ABP has emphasised the need for all stakeholders to sustain current efforts championed by the Bank to galvanize agricultural production towards meeting the requirements of Nigeria’s growing population.
Emefiele who spoke in Zauro, Kebbi State noted that Nigeria was naturally blessed to meet her food requirement and had no reason to continually repeat mistakes of the past of neglecting agriculture.
A statement from the bank quoted him as saying “the rhetoric around neglect of previous years will remain part of our history and the best time to correct those mistakes is now and every stakeholder must contribute their quota to guarantee the realization of these national targets.
“Covid-19 and the associated lockdowns globally have shown that nations only export out of their reserves. Let us start building our own reserves now,” he added.
He noted that the ABP, which is an essential part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive for economic diversification, had improved the fortunes of rural farmers, transforming agriculture into a potential for economic growth.
According to Emefiele, the ABP, in the past five years, had been characterized by huge successes, learning points and challenges. Specifically, he noted that a total of 2,923,937 farmers cultivating 3,647,643 hectares across 21 commodities through 23 participating Financial Institutions had been financed in the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory from inception till date.
He also disclosed that the Bank, under the 2020 wet season CBN-RIFAN partnership, financed 221,450 farmers for the cultivation of 221,450 hectares in 32 States.
“The North-West zone with 85,261 farmers that cultivated 120,218 hectares represented 38.5% in the total number of farmers and 54.3% in the total number of hectares financed,” he disclosed, adding that the massive pyramids being launched in Kebbi were harvests from various fields across Kebbi State and a confirmation of the positive outlook of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.”
Speaking further, CBN governor explained that the partnership between the CBN, Kebbi State government and RIFAN aimed at strategically complementing the Economic Sustainability Plan of the Buhari Administration.
While acknowledging the importance of loan repayment to the sustainability of the programme, he stressed that the CBN was constantly engaging the farmers to enhance their trust in the system, provide a competitive price arrangement and facilitate effective market linkages for their outputs.
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