The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, said the Federal Government has disbursed a total of N948 billion to 4,478,381 smallholder farmers under its anchor borrowers programme to boost food production in Nigeria.
The CBN Governor added that apart from encouraging farming, the lofty programme had generated an aggregate of 12.5 million direct and indirect jobs for the Nigerian youth.
Emefiele spoke at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, on Monday, while presenting a convocation/anniversary lecture titled, ‘The Role of Central Bank in Managing Economic Downturns’, to mark the 40th anniversary of the university.
The CBN Governor who was represented by the Apex bank’s Deputy governor (corporate services) added that under the credit facility to help households and businesses that suffered significant losses during the pandemic, the bank had disbursed N368.79 billion to 778,000 beneficiaries.
Giving the breakdown of how the facility was disbursed, Emefiele revealed that 648,052 households and owners of Small and Medium Enterprises benefited from the federal government-driven policy.
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According to him, the bank has also intervened in the agriculture, manufacturing, health sectors with N1.452 trillion.
The CBN boss said, “Specifically, under the Anchor Borrowers Programme, we have disbursed N948 billion to 4,478,381 smallholder farmers who cultivated 5.2 million hectares of farmland across the country, thereby creating 12. 5 million direct and indirect jobs.
“In healthcare 122 major healthcare projects have been funded to the tune of N115.36 billion, these healthcare interventions went to 31 pharmaceutical and 91 hospital projects
“As you all know, one of the major challenges facing the Nigerian economy is overreliance on revenues and foreign exchange earnings from the sale of crude oil, even though petrol represents just 10 per cent of our GDP.
“Moreso, the non-oil sector, particularly agricultural and manufacturing sectors, which contributes about 30 and 13 per cent to our GDP have been confronted with low investments, inadequate credit to the real sector and weak infrastructure.
“Furthermore, with an annual population growth rate of 2.8 per cent, it was important that all efforts were made available for Nigerians, particularly in sectors that had the potential to absorb youth. We were aware that if necessary support was given to households and business, productivity will rise and investment will flow into our economy,” he stated.
Emefiele hinged the current economic downturn and hardship in the system on the economic recession of 2015-2017 and the Covid-19 pandemic that ushered in a revenue drop and reduction in foreign investment portfolio.
In his submission, the Vice-Chancellor of EKSU, Professor Edward Olanipekun, commended Emefiele and the CBN in stabilising the nation’s economy over the years.
He described the 40 years of the establishment of the university as impactful in the life of the state, saying the university has been a reliable training ground for future leaders.
The Chairman of the occasion and Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Most Reverend Felix Ajakaye, urged the governments to be more pragmatic in the implementation of some of their policies for them to be impactful on the citizens.
“Our thought and actions must be practical-oriented. We have to go beyond lectures by being practical in dealing with policies that can benefit poor Nigerians,” the Bishop advised.
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