The Nigerian Federal Government has expended a total of N23bn in promoting local production of rice, soya bean, sugar and other important agricultural produce.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, made this known on Tuesday, November 1, while inspecting a Soya bean project.
The Soya bean project is a partnership between Kebbi government and International Capital Market Group commodity in Lagos.
Emefiele, represented by his Special Adviser on Development Finance, Mr. Paul Eluhaiwe spoke in Kebbi after inspecting the Wasagu Soya bean project and launching of the dry season farming.
The agreement is for ICMG to provide 12kg of improved seedlings and two bags of fertiliser to small farmers and 50 kg of seedlings and 10 bags of fertiliser to large farmers.
The 5,000 farmers working on the project were also given N170, 000 per hectare to take care of running cost.
At the end of the planting season, each hectare is estimated to produce 25 bags and out of that, four bags will be collected as repayment for the seedlings, fertilisers and money provided.
Emefiele said that the bank wanted to be part of the scheme so that more farmers could benefit from the project in Kebbi and other states.
He said that this is in line with the bank’s ambition of making Nigeria food sufficient and simultaneously preserving the nation’s foreign reserve.
