CBN Governor tasks State govts on agric

CBN Governor tasks State govts on Agric

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele has tasked State Governments in Nigeria to take advantage of opportunities in their respective States to boost the agricultural sector in Nigeria, even as he pledged the Bank’s support to any State Government committed to agriculture.

He gave the charge in Emure-Ile, Ondo State, on Friday, shortly before he and the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, performed the ground-breaking ceremony of Greenfield Integrated Poultry and Powderized Egg Facility.

Speaking on “Engendering the Growth of Nigeria’s Poultry Industry”, Mr. Emefiele emphasized the need for interested State Governments to take advantage of the many opportunities to develop the agricultural sector in their States in order to provide jobs, reduce the level of unemployment in the country and drive growth.

According to him, through such moves, the Nigerian economy would receive massive boost through the non-importation of agricultural produce, which he stressed Nigeria had no business importing.

While reiterating the charge of the President, Muhammadu Buhari, to Nigerians to “produce what we eat and eat what we produce”, Mr. Emefiele emphasized that the attention focused on agriculture was a good strategy.

“Agriculture can still be used as a catalyst for creating jobs, reducing unemployment and driving growth in Nigeria,” he noted, even as he recalled that the ban on the importation of chickens in 2003, with the exception of day old chickens, boosted the poultry industry in Nigeria.

With the commencement of the Greenfield Integrated Poultry Facility, Mr. Emefiele expressed optimism that the implementation of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme in the State would be tremendously expanded.

He also disclosed that a cumulative sum of N55.526 billion had been disbursed to over 250,000 farmers who cultivated almost 300,000 hectares of farmland for rice, wheat, maize, cotton, soybeans, cassava, etc. since commencement of the Programme in November 2015, noting that the implementation in partnership with State Governments and several private sector groups, had contributed to the creation of an estimated 890,000 direct and 2.6 million indirect jobs.