The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday said it’s Anchor Borrowers Programme for the promotion of Agriculture had set the country ...
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday said it’s Anchor
Borrowers Programme for the promotion of Agriculture had set the country
to begin exportation of rice by 2017.
The Anchor Borrowers Programme of the CBN and the Presidential Commaittee on Rice Production launched in July had jointly set the target.
The
Acting Director of Corporate Communications of the apex bank, Isaac
Okorafor, said this in Yenagoa at a sensitisation workshop for farmers
with the theme “Promoting Stability and Economic Development’
According
to him, farmers in Kebbi, Jigawa, Ebonyi, Sokoto and Cross River
states, among others, have already keyed into the programme, resulting
in massive rice cultivation.
He said the country would achieve
self-sustenance in rice production if the momentum was sustained, adding
that the country should commence exportation of locally produced rice
by 2017.
Okorafor said Kebbi State had already harvested one
million tons of rice, adding that Ebonyi’s harvest had outstripped the
earmarked production for the year.
“The development is encouraging
and by the end of 2017, we will not only meet our national demand which
is between six and seven million tons but have surplus to export.
We
must rid ourselves of eating foreign rice that has been stored for over
nine years in Thailand, Vietnam and India. Nigerian rice is fresh and
healthier.
We should eat Nigerian rice provided for by the CBN
Anchor Programme; 50 Kg of local rice is now N8, 000 in Ebonyi. Already,
the Abia Government has ordered rice from Ebonyi for Christmas.
What we have done with this programme so far is to create jobs through farming, especially for the unemployed youths.
Nigerian
youths must wake up, dust themselves up and join this worthy campaign.
Remember that the status of our farmers is now better due to the support
they are receiving as a result of government’s policy.
Our
currency is weak because we engaged in needless importation of all kinds
of food stuffs, including tooth picks; the government is determined to
stop this,’’ he said.
The Branch Controller, CBN, Yenagoa, Oke Nwajah, said the state was blessed with rich wet soil that supported rice cultivation.
