President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the Anchor Borrowers’ programme in rice production to 14 other states in the country as part of the efforts to ensure food sufficiency in Nigeria.
Kebbi was the first state in Nigeria to begin the Anchor Borrowers’ programme.
The representative of the CBN on the Bank of Industry (BoI) Board and Executive Director, Corporate Services in the bank, Jonathan Tobin, disclosed this at a media parley organised by BoI for journalists in Lagos at the weekend.
He revealed that the presidential directive stemmed from the successful implementation of the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ programme in rice production in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
Tobin said that the president had approved that all the states in the North, including Benue, Cross River, Anambra and Ebonyi states, commence a fresh Anchor Borrowers’ programme in rice production.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the CBN to commence a replica of the Anchor Borrowers’ programme in 14 states in the country. These 14 states are all the states in the Northern parts of the country, while Benue, Cross River, Anambra and Ebonyi states are also included. But I think you will get the 14 states,” he said.
Tobin said that fresh funds are being packaged by the apex bank to ensure that the programme is given all necessary funding to ensure the success of the scheme.
He said the CBN supported food production initiative to increase local production of rice and wheat in the country in line with the Federal Government’s resolve to diversify the economy through agriculture.
The CBN executive said that the main reason for this Anchor Borrowers’ programme by the apex bank was for it to address some food commodities that the government is hugely spending so much foreign exchange on for their imports into the country, such as rice and wheat.
He added that the key objective of the programme is to quickly address these staple food items that government has already identified so as to reduce the country’s import base and also to make rice available for Nigerians.
Tobin said that the apex bank is critically looking at rice, wheat, fish and other food items that are taking toll on the country’s foreign reserve.
Available statistics indicate that Nigeria can no longer afford to spend huge foreign exchange on the importation of food items that can be produced locally in view of decreasing oil revenue.
About N1 trillion is spent annually on food imports. According to CBN figures, import of rice and wheat alone was N428 billion and N307 billion in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
