To rev up food production following the lull created by COVID-19, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it is set to fund 1.6 million farmers in the 2020 wet season across the country.
The CBN Director, Development Finance Department, Mr Yila Yusuf, disclosed this on Tuesday at the flag-off of farm inputs distribution for cotton farmers for the 2020 planting season in Kwali, Abuja.
Represented by Mr. Ayoola Quadri, the Director explained that the bank would finance the farmers under the bank’s 10 focal commodities which would cut across the value chains.
According to him, the move was consistent with CBN’s broader blueprint of stimulating growth in the agriculture value chain to ultimately guarantee food security in the country.
On cotton production, Yusuf said the apex bank had engaged 256,000 farmers for the 2020 planting season through its Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).
He emphasized that the farmers were expected to pay back the loan given by CBN under the ABP.
He further disclosed that the CBN had reduced the interest rates paid on the loan from nine per cent to five per cent because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yusuf also noted that the CBN was working hard to revive the Cotton Textile and Garment (CTG) industry to create jobs and boost the economy of the country.
He explained that with commitment of the bank in 2018 on cotton production, the textile industries in 2019 were self sufficient as cottons used during the period were sourced within the country and even left some in warehouses.
He said: “CBN is trying to bring back the glory of textiles of those days where the industry used to employ 10 million people across the country.
“In the 80s, we lost that glory because of smuggling where our country was turned to a dumping ground of textiles materials. It is an unfortunate situation, about five billion dollars was spent annually on the importation of textiles”.
He added that the apex bank was doing backward integration to ensure that the entire value chain in the industry was funded for the benefit of the people and the country.
In his remarks at the flag off, the President of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria, Mr Anibe Achimugu thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and and CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele for their interventions in the sub-sector.
Achimugu noted that with the loan facilities provided by CBN, the farmers were now witnessing the turn-around in the production output.
