According to Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the current scarcity of foreign exchange in the country is a good development for Nigeria’s economy.
This is because local production of various essential goods now receives top priority, and are getting positive outcomes, he said.
He spoke during the assessment tour of the farmlands cultivated under CBN’s anchor borrowers programme in Kebbi State at the weekend.
He stressed that agriculture is the bedrock of genuine economic growth of any nation and that Nigeria could not be an exception.
Emefiele also commended farmers and the Kebbi State government for their determination and commitment in the scheme. With the level of success attained in the pilot project in the state, in addition to the progress at Sunti Golden Sugar Estate in Niger, it is now a reality that the country can produce enough to feed itself and even export in no distant future, he said
The CBN governor also noted that with 78,581 farmers mobilised in Kebbi State under the anchor borrowers programme and the disbursement of N4.9 billion as loans to the farmers, about 570,000 direct jobs have been created, while 70,871 of the rural farmers now own and operate bank accounts.
