Nigeria`s Central Bank Governor Mr. Godwin Emefiele, may have as recently as two months ago sleepwalked his way into the storm of partisan politics with the his unhealthy romance with the ruling All Progressives Congress. As an institution however, the apex bank has continued to strive to boost agricultural activity in
Harsh economic realities
For many Nigerians, the times have been anything but funny. Among many Nigerians, there is the nagging feeling of frustration that an administration that promised rain in 2015, and reprised that promise in 2019, has instead overseen a desperate drought.
In May 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that according to its Consumer Price Index (CP1) and Inflation Report May 2022, Nigeria`s inflation rate increased to 17.71 per cent on a year-on-year-basis.
As a result of rising inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria was forced to tighten its benchmark interest rates in May for the first time in almost six years. It raised rates to 13 percent from 11. 5 per cent in a bid to rein in inflation. Food inflation surged to 19.5 per cent from 18.4 per cent between April and May, driven upwards by the rising cost of bread, cereals and other food items.
With the world already at a critical crossroads no thanks to a global food crises highlighted by a recent briefing from the United Nations World Food Programme titled ‘War in Ukraine Drives Global Food Crisis,’ which shows that Nigeria is in an emergency situation, while calling on support to be given to the global and regional initiatives set up to combat the unprecedented crises, effective measures have become necessary to support the efforts of those who are at the frontlines of confronting food insecurity. Farmers are no doubt in the driving seats.
CBN`s carrots approach
The Central Bank of Nigeria recently urged farmers in the country to take advantage of its various intervention programmes so as to boost their output and hasten the country`s collective efforts towards attaining food self-sufficiency soon.
In dishing out the advice, the apex bank also had an eye on improving the capacity of the farmers to increase the supply of raw materials into the countrys manufacturing sector so as to boost export which would in turn help shore up the countrys foreign exchange earnings base.
A number of these interventions already on ground include the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund(ACGSF) which was established by the Bank in collaboration with the Federal Government in 1977 to de-risk agricultural loans by providing guarantees to banks that lend to the agricultural sector, thereby encouraging lending to the agricultural sector.
There is also the CBN Private Sector-Led Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme( P-AADS) launched in 2020 to complement the Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme(AADS) developed to engage 370,000 youth in agricultural production, in collaboration with state governments. The P-AADS was tailored to explore private sector partnerships to facilitate more rapid land clearing for the production of key agricultural commodities. The P-AADS can provide loans of up to N2 billion to farmers.
It remains to be seen how many farmers have taken advantage of these intervention programmes by the apex bank to boost food production and other agricultural activities in the country. It also remains to be seen the ease with which these intervention regimes can be accessed.
In a country where everything seems to have been smudged by corruption and conflict of interest, it also remains to be seen how much these intervention schemes by the apex bank have been able to extricate themselves from the corrupt wiles of those for whom life revolves around their pockets.
Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com
