The Nigeria Agribusiness Group has advocated for the institutionalisation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (APB) for sustainability beyond CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele’s term in office.
The think tank group for coordination of agriculture businesses value chain in Nigeria said the CBN ceding the programme to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture will ensure its sustainability long after Mr Emefiele’s second tenure at the CBN.
The Chairman of the Administrative Board of Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Mr Kabir Ibrahim, who doubles as the President of All Farmers Association, stated this at a press briefing yesterday in Abuja.
He said the programme has achieved some impact and it’s laudable, adding that the programme can be deepened to impact the over 14 million farmers in Nigeria.
“The CBN is hereby being called upon to reappraise the Anchor Borrowers Programme and to make it more sustainable and, therefore, it is good to locate it in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
“These interventions will have to be institutionalised and the best way is to give those who have the mandate to execute it.
“The CBN shouldn’t target just about 2 million out of the over 14 million farmers. We encourage the CBN to reach the farmers through the farmer associations,” he said.
Also speaking at the briefing, the Chairman of Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Chief Emmanuel Ijewere, said Nigeria must adopt smart agriculture to maximise its benefits.
He also said the group seeks to exit Nigeria from oil dependence to agriculture dependence.
“We must adopt smart agriculture. That is how to optimally utilise the resources of both the public and private sectors,” he said.
Ijewere added that Nigeria should ban the export of raw materials and emphasise the exports of finished goods to boost GDP growth.
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