FG to restructure Bank of Agriculture towards food sufficiency – Emefiele

THE Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, said that the Federal Government through the Ministry of Agriculture, will soon restructure the Bank of Agriculture, towards assisting farmers in agricultural development.

Emefiele stated this while fielding questions from newsmen during a tour of facilities at Odeda Farm Institute, on Tuesday, by the Presidential Task Force on Agriculture, saying that the step would help the bank in performing its primary responsibilities of boosting agricultural production in the country.

Other members of the team are the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Audu Ogbeh and the Governor of Kebbi State, Mr Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.

The task force also visited the Eriwe Fish Farm Centre in Leguru Local Council Development Area Green House Technology Centre, Kotopo, Abeokuta and Owowo Farm Settlement at Ewekoro Local Government Area and they were conducted round by the State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

He emphasised the need to revive agriculture as the mainstay of the nation’s economy, and that each state of the federation had been mandated to improve on agriculture potentials in their areas.

Emefiele said, “The Federal Ministry of Agriculture is also working towards ensuring that the Bank of Agriculture is properly restructured so that they can perform the responsibilities that they have been given under the law to boost agricultural production in the country.

“Basically, the point is this: there is no other place to run to but it’s just going back to farm, according to Mr President and then improving agricultural potentials of this country.”

The CBN boss added that the apex bank had not fully disbursed over N250 billion for farmers under its Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme and that the CBN would ensure that small holder farmers benefitted from its anchor borrower scheme through the micro, small and medium enterprise.

“For us to go round the entire federation, not just about rice, tomatoes, millet but also about even coming down south. What can we do to resuscitate some of our age-long agricultural potentials?

“I see here a dam; I understand there are 11 dams in this state and in this facility, you have the facilities that were developed in the first republic that have become moribund as a result of the fact that they were abandoned. But I can assure you that the farm can be resuscitated. We can get nine season farming for maize particularly,” he added.

Ogbeh lamented that importation of everything had almost destroyed the nation’s economic growth, submitting that wealth creation among the youths remained one of the ways to recover the economy from comatose.

The minister said, “For too long, we’ve depended on importing everything into this country. We’ve almost destroyed our country, and only the elite are guilty. It’s time to get back to work, create wealth, especially for younger people.

“We can grow the fish, maize, produce our chicken, cattle; we can export to every corner of this world simply by organising ourselves. That’s why we are here and that’s what the governor is doing, the CBN Governor, the governor of Kebbi is here. We are going around like this because this is where the action is.

“The Federal Government has no farm; the farms are in the state and the states belong to the farmers who are doing the real work. So this is exciting and promising and I assure you from now on, there is only one way forward for economic recovery: agriculture, agriculture, agriculture and anything else can follow.”