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By Jimoh Babatunde & Gabriel Ewepu
The Central Bank of Nigeria has in recent years come up with different programmes to grow the country’s agriculture and ensre food security in the country. One of such programmes is the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
Under the programme, the CBN set aside N40 billion, out of the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) to be given to farmers at a single-digit interest rate of maximum nine percent per annum.
As part of the apex bank’s financing framework, the CBN has facilitated the funding of rice and maize farmers and processors through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, Commodity Association, Private/Prime Anchors, State Governments, Maize Aggregation Scheme (MAS), and the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS).
6 min read
Nigeria is producing 10 times more maize yearly now than it did at independence in 1960, data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows.
But despite now being the second largest producer of the commodity in Africa, farmers are worried that cheaper maize imported from other African countries will crash the price in the country’s market and also limit their share of the larger African market.
The USDA data also shows that Nigeria’s yearly national production figure doubled between 1999 when the country returned to democracy and 2019, and that the figures in the last five years are the highest ever.
By Kadiri Abdulrahman
At the inception of the present regime on May 29, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari expressed his intention to diversify the Nation’s economy and move it away from sole dependence on crude oil.
Top on the government’s list of diversifiable alternatives was agriculture. Government’s intention was to ensure that the country developed the agriculture sector to a point where it will complement crude oil receipts with huge exportation of agricultural products. The idea was for the country to boost agricultural production and for Nigeria to reverse its negative balance of payment on food.
The first step, however, will be for the nation to achieve self sufficiency in food by, at least, “growing what we eat,’’ and then, put a stop to the reckless importation of food items. This was supposed to help save scarce foreign exchange which can then be used for other more pressing needs.
Top on the government’s list of diversifiable alternatives was agriculture. Government’s intention was to ensure that the country developed the agriculture sector to a point where it will complement crude oil receipts with huge exportation of agricultural products.
The idea was for the country to boost agricultural production and for Nigeria to reverse its negative balance of payment on food.
The first step, however, will be for the nation to achieve self sufficiency in food by, at least, “
growing what we eat,’’ and then, put a stop to the reckless importation of food items. This was supposed to help save scarce foreign exchange which can then be used for other more pressing needs.