Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has expressed the banks determination to continue to support state governments that are committed to promote agriculture.
Emefiele spoke yesterday, Friday, at Emure-Ile, Ondo State, shortly before he and the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, performed the ground-breaking ceremony of Greenfield Integrated Poultry andPowderized Egg Facility.
The CBN Boss, who spoke on the topic: “Engendering the Growth of Nigeria’s Poultry Industry,” emphasized the need for interested state governments to take advantage of the many opportunities to develop the agricultural sector in order to provide jobs 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, Emefiele expressed optimism that the implementation of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme in the State would be tremendously expanded.
He said 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.
Emefiele reiterated the commitment of the CBN to work with State Governments in supporting small holder farmers and processors across other items that can be produced in the respective States. According to him, the move was directly in harmony with the Bank’s resolve and vision to create a professional and people-centred Central Bank that will act as a financial catalyst for job creation and inclusive economic growth.
In his remarks, the Governor Akeredolu called on state governments to support ranching as a way of boosting the quality of meat produced in Nigeria and that they should key into agriculture as a way of boosting and diversifying the Nigerian economy.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of Greenfield Assets Limited, Dr. Paul Obanua thanked both the CBN Governor and the Ondo State Governor for supporting the project, which he noted was the largest in Africa and the Middle East.
