By Victoria Onehi
To boost food production thereby reducing food inflation in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has allocated 2.15 million bags of fertiliser, valued at over 100 billion naira to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for Nigerian farmers.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Mr Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this while making the presentation to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Senator Abubakar Kyari, in his office in Abuja on Wednesday.
In his speech, the CBN governor said food prices are a crucial component of inflation, especially considering that a substantial portion of household expenditure in Nigeria is allocated towards food and non-alcoholic beverages.
He said while the CBN has been implementing comprehensive measures to curb inflation, it is evident that in the short term, inflationary pressures may persist, predominantly driven by escalating food prices,hence the need to mitigate the surge in food prices.
“In allignment with our strategic shift towards focusing on our fundamental mandate, the CBN has veered away from direct quasi-fiscal interventions and transitioned towards leveraging conventional monetary policy tools for executing monetary policies effectively.
“In pursuit of these shared goals, we are delighted to announce the allocation of 2.15 million bags of fertiliser, valued at over 100 billion naira, which we humbly handover to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. This contribution from the Central Bank aims to amplify food production capabilities and foster price stabilisation within the agricultural sector.”Cardoso said.
The CBN governor said despite the prevailing challenges posed by inflation and currency depreciation, government remains resolute in its determination to surmount the challenges.
In his response,the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Senator Abubakar Kyari, expressed profound appreciation unbehalf of Nigerian farmers to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and to the CBN governor for the gift.
” Fertiliser seem to be the major cost of value in terms of inputs in any agricultural production,so we are very happy and are extremely grateful for this gesture.I assure you that it will be judiciously used and we will deliver it to the last mile,the intended farmers so they can reap the benefits of this gesture.” Kyari said.
Reiterating on this,the Minister of state for Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said structures are being put in place to make sure the fertiliser get to the real farmers and not to portfolio farmers.
” A situation where some persons will claim hectares of land that was never planted yet support has gone to them is a thing of the past. We want to assure you that for us in the Ministry,we will put in place structure and systems of process to ensure that maximum benefit is derived by Nigerian farmers.That way,we have massive food production that will dampen the hardship.” Abdullahi explains.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning Atiku Bagudu, says to reduce the challenges being faced in the agricultural sector,the Federal Government budgeted close to a trillion naira to the sector in the 2024 budget. This significant increase he said is consistent with the Renewed Hope project of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
