The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, says the regulator is introducing initiatives to encourage Nigerians to consume what they produce and also export.
The governor made this known at the opening of its 32nd seminar for finance correspondents and business editors in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Thursday.
He said such a drive made the central bank introduce the Produce, Add Value, and Export initiative.
Emefiele said, “Produce, Add Value and Export is expected to make Nigerians consume what they produce, add value to it, and even export the surplus.
“It is an initiative akin to South-East Asia’s much referenced export-led industrialisation policy which changed the economic fortunes of countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore.
“PAVE is designed to be the key for fast-tracking a bucket of substitutes to crude oil export. It encourages backward integration for the local production of select items.”
He recalled that the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the biggest crises that had faced mankind in recent history, impacted economies, and disrupted business activities globally.
Expectedly, he said, Nigeria like most commodity-dependent countries was not spared the deleterious impact of the pandemic, given the dependence on crude oil export as a major source of revenue and foreign exchange.
He said, “Many countries that are much less endowed than Nigeria are doing it. Consider for example that agriculture exports alone from the Netherlands was about $120bn last year. Yet, Netherlands has a landmass of about 42,000 square kilometers, which is much smaller than the landmass of Niger State alone, at over 76,000 square kilometers.”
Emefiele unveils second maize pyramids in Kaduna
Meanwhile, the CBN governor, Emefiele, unveiled a maize pyramid in Kaduna under the CBN-Maize Association of Nigeria Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
At an event on Thursday, Emefiele disclosed that the apex bank was committed to boosting the nation’s economy through financing agricultural commodities.
According to him, the essence of the maize revolution is to ensure food security across the country and conservation of scarce foreign exchange.
Emefiele who was represented by the Director, Development Finance Department, CBN, Philip Yusuf, said, “The maize revolution was birthed over six years ago under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, with the overall objectives of facilitating food security by increasing local production of maize, safeguarding the activities of smallholder maize farmers, stimulating rapid economic recovery; enhancing rural livelihoods; increasing job opportunities through funding of smallholder farmers for commodity associations and supporting prime anchors to engage in backward integration for self-sufficiency and conservation of scarce foreign exchange.
“The CBN is committed to financing over 600,000 hectares. Our strategy is hinged on improving productivity by providing more funding for the anchors to enable them to utilize high-quality inputs and good agronomic practices to boost output.”
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