The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has said that the institution’s interventions in the agricultural sector saved the Nigerian economy and gave a boost to productivity in the last six years.
He spoke while nspecting the palm plantation at Odighi village in Ovia North- East Local Government Area of Edo state, at the weekend.
Mr. Emefiele was quoted in a statement by the bank as saying that the level of interests in agriculture had grown significantly, with tremendous impact on the overall economy.
He wondered what would have happened to Nigerians with the rising cost of food items across the globe, if the apex bank had not initiated it’s people-focused policies and programmes, under his administration.
The CBN Governor expressed delight that the bank has assumed a pivotal role since 2015 upon the pronouncement by President Muhammadu Buhari that “we produce what we eat and eat what we produce” by coming up with several initiatives aimed repositioning the sector with a view to creating employment opportunities as well as growing the the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.
On his assessment of the developments in the farm, Mr Emefiele who was impressed by the strides being recorded in the production of maize and cassava, expressed optimism that in the next twelve months, palm produce harvests would have commenced.
The Governor, while acknowledging the significant role played by Edo state Government, thanked Governor Godwin Obaseki for matching words with action by making sure that arable land was made available to those genuinely interested in agriculture.
He also appealed to other state governors to emulate Edo state which has so far, made available about 70 per cent of the promised arable land.
Under the ABP, small-holder farmers who hitherto could not approach commercial banks for loans, now readily receive facilities in the forms of inputs like seedlings, fertilizer and herbicides.
Those small-holder farmers can now cultivate and produce enough for their families and sell produce as loan repayment with ease, thereby generating employment, improve living standards and creating wealth simultaneously.
Emefiele also commended the efforts of the promoting company, Agri-Allied Resources and Processing Limited and its parent company, Tolaram Limited for heeding to clarion call made by the CBN to source their critical raw materials locally.
He noted that the company has painstakingly embraced the backward integration principle by acquiring a farmland of about, 18, 000 hectares for cultivation of oil palm, cassava and maize which are the critical raw materials used by the group.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of Agri-Allaied resources, Mr. Madhukar Khetan, hinted that the company has accessed N15 billion ten-year loan.
He added that the single-digit interest rate loan was with a two-year moratorium and given under the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) for the project.
The MD said that the farm currently has about 1, 000 work force.
