An Agricultural Economist, Mr Bidemi Oyeleye, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to add beekeeping and other produce to the Anchor Borrowers’ scheme to boost food security.
Oyeleye, Chief Executive, Centre for Bee Research and Development, Ibadan, made the call in Lagos on Wednesday.
According to him, the procedure for inclusion of more produce should be accelerated to position the country as a net exporter of agricultural produce.
Oyeleye, who is the President of the Federation of Beekeepers Association of Nigeria (FEBKAN), said the bee sector had the potential to grow the economy.
He said that although the CBN weighs a produce before its inclusion, the bee sector if encouraged, is capable of reducing importation of bee products.
He noted that bees had a wide variety of important products made from honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly and propolis.
Honeybees are one of the most important pollinators of both wild and domestic plants. The honeybees visit more flowering plant species, including many native plants.
In many countries, honeybees are crucial for agriculture because they pollinate a wide range of cultivated food plants.
Oyeleye said that due to the enormous potential, the sector anxiously awaits its inclusion in the scheme.
Dr Uju Ogubunka, a former Executive Secretary, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), urged the government to sustain the gains made in the agricultural sector by curtailing the security challenges in the country.
Ogubunka said that President Muhammadu Buhari should sustain the policy of assisting domestic manufacturers when constituting a new cabinet.
He said that since government is a continuum, the fiscal and monetary authorities should align more for the growth of the manufacturing sector.
“The Investment and Export (IE) windows should be sustained, especially for manufacturers to grow the sector for employment opportunities and to curb inflation
