Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele has urged youths in Nigeria to embrace agriculture, declaring the apex bank’s readiness to support those willing to engage in the sector.
Mr. Emefiele made the call in Katsina on Thursday during the unveiling of the first maize pyramid and flag-off of the 2021 maize wet season farming under the CBN-Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
He expressed belief that Nigerian youth could leverage their talents, along with technological tools to improve farm productivity and delivery of agricultural produce to markets.
While noting that agriculture offered significant benefits for the youth, Emefiele reiterated that the bank had put in place several measures to improve access to credit for youths interested in Agriculture under the Anchor Borrowers Programme and the Agri-Business Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS).
According to him, groups of youth with contiguous land for farming are eligible to seek the Bank’s support through the CBN prime anchor arrangement.
“The CBN will not only provide access to credit for these youths but will also provide guarantees that their produce will be purchased by a prime anchor at agreed prices,” the governor assured.
He added that the CBN would resist attempts by those who seek to continually import maize into the country, noting that maize farmers in Nigeria had what it takes to close the maize demand gap of over 4.5 million metric tonnes in the country.
“With over 50,000 bags of maize available on this ground, and others aggregated across the country, maize farmers are sending a resounding message that “we can grow enough maize to meet the country’s demand,’” he declared.
Speaking further, Emefiele explained that the maize unveiled at the ceremony would be sold to reputable feed processors, adding that this would in turn impact positively on current poultry feed prices, as over 60% of maize produced in the country are used for producing poultry feed.
