Agbo Dennis
FG disburses N300bn to farmers. President Muhammadu Buhari says N300 billion has been disbursed to farmers while 1.6 million poor and vulnerable households are currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer programme.
The president revealed this while virtually declaring open the 14th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, FG disburses N300bn to farmers and some of the various initiatives embarked upon to boost agricultural trade in Nigeria include the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
He stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria had made more than N300 billion available to over 3.1 million smallholder farmers of 21 different commodities.
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He said the commodities included Rice, Wheat, Maize, Cotton, Cassava, Poultry, Soybeans, Groundnut, Fish, cultivating over 3.8 million hectares of farmland.
It is on record that 80% of rice consumed in Nigeria is now produced locally, he said.
He added that the National Social Register of poor and vulnerable Nigerians had 32.6 million persons from seven million poor and vulnerable households identified, imploring bankers to play a stronger role in improving livelihoods.
From this number, 1.6 million poor and vulnerable households, comprising more than eight million individuals are currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer program, which pays a bi-monthly stipend of N10,000 per household, he said.
President Buhari said the National Social Investment Programme was biggest in Sub-Sahara Africa and one of the largest in the world.
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To further strengthen recovery and enable more Nigerians, President Buhari said, last year, he approved the establishment of InfraCo Plc, a world-class infrastructure development vehicle, wholly focused on Nigeria, with combined debt and equity take-off capital of N15 trillion.
He said the company was being managed by an independent infrastructure Fund Manager.
The Solar Power Naija project was launched in April 2021 with the aim of delivering five million off-grid solar connections to Nigerian households.
In May 2021, the Rural Electrification Agency announced the planned deployment of solar-powered grids to 200 Primary Health Centers and 104 Unity Schools nationwide.
“Under the Family Homes Fund Limited, Social Housing programme incorporated by the Federal Government of Nigeria, more than two thousand hectares of land with title documents have been issued by 24 states with the capacity to accommodate about 65,000 new homes.
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“The Central Bank of Nigeria is providing a N200 Billion financing facility, with a guarantee by the Federal Government,’’ he said.
The president affirmed that the theme of the conference, “Economic Recovery, Inclusion, and Transformation: The Role of Banking and Finance’’ was most appropriate, following the global shocks from COVID-19.
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