There Is No Place To Run To But The Farm – Cbn Governor Urges More Participation In Agriculture
BEVERLY HILLS, December 07, (THEWILL) – The Central Bank (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has urged Nigerians to join hands in salvaging the economic situation in the country through agriculture.
The CBN boss gave the advice while speaking with reporters in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, after inspecting some farm settlements in the state declaring that the CBN is committed to assisting farmers financially.
“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,” he said.
“We have under our Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme over N250billion which has not been fully disbursed.
“We were also at a farm at Eriwe where we also talked about our micro and small and medium enterprise loan scheme, it's about N220billion and just less than N80billion of it is utilised.
“We are going to see to how small holder farmers can benefit from our anchor borrower programme through the micro, small and medium enterprise.
“And for the states, when we find the state that is serious and ready to work with us, we burst the commercial agricultural credit scheme facility that we have because the President has mandated that those who are serious we must support. That is the essence of visitation.
“The mandate of President Buhari to the CBN regarding the South West is situate how to get the region back to increasing the production of cassava, maize as well as return to cocoa production.
“For us to go round the entire federation, it is not just about rice, tomatoes, millet (production), 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.
“And in the South Western part of the country, the mandate the president has given is that for the South West, we must situate how do we get back in ensuring that we increase the production of cassava, maize and go back again into cocoa production, so that with maize you can now support the poultry productivity in the South Western part of the country.
“After this, we will go to the South South and the South Eastern parts of the country. Again, how can we again go back and begin to say that we have species of palm trees that can begin to produce foods in three years , in three and half years.
“This is the entire essence of it. Why am I here? That we should be able to put in place more funds to support agricultural production in this country.
“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.”
In the inspection team were the Minister for Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe; Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state; his Kebbi State counterpart, Atiku Bagudu, who is the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Agriculture.
Story by Oputah David