4.1 million smallholder farmers participate in CBN borrower programme ― Official

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said over 4.1 million smallholder Farmers are currently participating in the CBN’s Intervention programme, Anchor Borrower programmes (ABP) since inception in 2015.

Similarly, it said more than 200 brands of Nigerian-made rice are now found in the markets as a result of the ABP.

This was disclosed by the Assistant Director, Head Development Finance Office, Kaduna Branch, Mr Aminu Muhammad, during a One-Day interactive Enlightenment session with Organized Labour and Civil Society on the 5-year policy Thrust of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN).

The Interactive section was to educate North-West Stakeholders in Kaduna on the various CBN’s intervention programmes initiated by Godwin Emefeile’s administration, for the organized labour and Civil Society to also benefit from these interventions.

Mr Muhammad who reeled out the various intervention programmes explained that, 706,719 beneficiaries nationwide have so far benefited from the Targeted Credit Facilities(TCF), where 364 billion has been disbursed to about 766,000 beneficiaries.

Similarly, he said the ASMEA programmes has committed 134 billion to about 37,000 beneficiaries, the Health sector intervention facility, has committed over 108 billion to about 117 projects.

He added that 37, 571 businesses have benefited from the Agric segment of the intervention programmes and 107, 932 jobs were created. Hence, urging the Stakeholders not to be left out in the intervention programmes.

In his remarks, the Director Cooperate communication of CBN, Nwanisobi Osita, said the Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefeile has a Five-year development plan tagged 5-Year Policy Thrust aimed at building the Nigerian economy in a sustainable and inclusive manner.

He said the Governor of CBN is bent on creating an economically viable for everyone.

Osita, though speaking virtually, and represented by the Deputy Director, Sam Okogbue during the occasion, said as a result of the various interventions by the CBN and the physical authority to grow the economy, Nigeria’s economy despite slipping into recession on two occasions has recorded positively in Q3 of 2021, by 4.03 percent.

He said “we’ve seen what has happened to the Nigerian economy, especially because Nigeria is a mono-product economy, dependent solely on oil for our FX earnings, as well as over 60 % of government expenditure.”

“Of course, oil is susceptible to external shocks, so anytime there is shock, it transmitted to our economy. Immediately. That’s why we had a recession in 2016, and in 2020 again, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, that dovetails into economic crisis also.”

“All the intervention programmes, of course, you will see a lot of intervention programmes geared towards stimulating the Nigerian economy to recovery. That is what Central Bank, in concrete terms, is doing. To get back our economy, to grow in a sustainable manner.”

“So when you look at Governor Emefeile’s 5-years Policy Thrust, starting with the one he wants to grow the economy by double digits, and when you look at what happened to the economy from 2020 when we slipped into recession, recording about a negative 6.10 in quarter 2 of 2020, minus 3.62, 20 of quarter 3, and then move to a positive trajectory, but still very fragile.”

“The whole essence is to rejig the economy, stimulate the economy, and we are seeing the impact. We are not where we should be, no doubt about that. Our target is to ensure that we grow this economy sustainably to bring down inflation. We’ve already seen inflation trending downward from about 16.63 percent to about 15.4 percent.”

“It’s still not where we want it to be because prices are still high. But we are very optimistic that both our dry season farming and then, wet season would come, mobilizing the Anchor Borrower Programme, we would be able to produce more.”

He said that’s what the CBN is doing to ensure the economy will grow sustainably.

He said the financial system is now stable as people can put their money in banks and be able to go to sleep. Non-performing loans are driving downward which showed the stability of the financial system.

Osita said we now have the e-Naira which is the digital equivalent of the physical Naira, to drive the digital economy.

“Going by what is happening in the world today, Nigeria is positioning herself to be a world player. If we do nothing today, we would definitely be cut off. Today we’re talking of the world economy, internet economy, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, computing and the rest of them, unless we build a very robust infrastructure that would capture all these, we would be left behind and that’s what Central Bank is doing,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Director-General, Micheal Imoudu National Institute for National Studies (MINILS) Ilorin, Comrade Issa AREMU at the occasion lauded President BUHARI administration for what he called “a return to National Development Plan after decades of ad hoc neo-liberal sectoral reforms” adding that “nations that failed to plan only muddle through to fail.”

According to him, President Buhari with the new plan that would outlive his government has shown that “statesmanship is about Nation building, not the next election as some state actors tend to poison the polity”.

The Director-General therefore urged organized LABOUR to “constructively support and engage the Plan which he said enjoined the inputs of LABOUR at preparation through its participatory inclusive process.

Also, he commended the CBN under Godwin Emefele which he said through monetary policies and targets development financing had set the tone for the framework for the new National Development Plan in terms of stable macro-economic factors, value addition and employment creation.

He therefore called on trade unions to engage the CBN in taking the advantage of all the development interventions of CBN to enhance the welfare of their members.

Also, Comrade Ayuba Mohammed Suleiman, Chairman of NLC in Kaduna, urged workers to make good use of what they would learn at the occasion and commended the CBN for choosing Kaduna for the interactive session.

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