This was disclosed by the apex bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele who was on assessment visit with the Presidential Taskforce on Wheat and Rice Production to one of the rice farm in the state recently.
“I was reading in the paper where someone said that it will take us five years to be able to become self-sufficient in rice, I’m going to tell him that it’s a bad news that, that person has because, in the same paper, the Rice Farmers Association themselves came out to say that economy sabotage are in rice production and that we all need to stand and rise against them.”
Emefiele stated that for the Cross River State Government, the CBN has disbursed close to about N3 billion Naira, which is meant to support the Anchor Borrowers farmers, who are involved and which rice farm cultivation we are commissioning.
He said: “And I am going to tell you that we are going to rise above all these and we are going to be able to produce rice, tomato, wheat and other Agricultural products to feed our people. We don’t have a choice but to move in this direction.”
He further explained that the federal government has not stopped the Importation of rice into the country but, “You see, the truth is that, not that we stopped the Importation of rice because we cannot say that we are stopping it but, what we have done is that, we have restricted foreign exchange allocation for those who wants to import rice and as a result of that restrictions, it has given a lot of encouragements to our farmers and not just through the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
Speaking also, The Chairman, Presidential Taskforce on Wheat/Rice Production, and Governor, Kebbi State, Sen. Atiku Bagudu in while commissioning one of the rice farm said, I’m quite honoured to be in Cross River as part of the tour to see the effort been undertaken by the different states and how to be self-sufficient in rice production.
