The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it is ready to support projects and programmes that will help the nation’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) become self-sustaining and economically viable.
CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced this in Abuja, on Monday, February 17, 2020, when he a team from the apex bank and officials of three major dairy companies – FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Nestle Nigeria Plc, and L& Z – on a courtesy visit to the Minister of the FCT, Alhaji Muhammad Musa Bello.
While commending efforts at ensuring improved security in the FCT, he said the team was at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to brief the Minister on some key initiatives aimed at boosting job creation. The visit was also to fast-track the processes of allocating land to the three companies that had requested for land to establish dairy processing plants in the FCT.
While imploring the FCT Minister to help expedite the allocation of land to them, Emefiele expressed confidence that the location of the companies in the FCT would drive industrialization, stimulate local production of milk and development of the local dairy sector. He said the move would also boost job creation, besides facilitating linkages along with the dairy sector in Nigeria and help to conserve huge foreign exchange for the country.
Emefiele said the collaboration between the CBN and the private sector, particularly under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) and the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS), is beginning to yield significant results with deliberate measures by the companies to embrace the backward integration measures and boost job creation and industrialization locally.
Citing the Bobi Grazing Reserve in Niger State, where 31,000 hectares of land had been allocated by the State Government to dairy companies, as one of such strategic partnerships entered into by the CBN, Emefiele said local dairy breeds would enhance milk collection and also integrate the local pastoralists, besides curbing the farmers-herders clashes.
The governor also disclosed that the CBN was working closely with other stakeholders to ensure that products were taken off farmers at an agreed price with the farmers, adding that the Bank was also engaging to revamp the Abuja Commodity Exchange to ensure standardization of prices.
Responding, the FCT Minister commended the CBN Governor, for his passion at revamping the Nigerian economy, through its various intervention policies, calling for the establishment of a price stabilizing mechanism. This, he believes, will guarantee prices for farmers and encourage them to always return to the farm, with the assurance that their products will be purchased at harvest.
Alhaji Bello pledged to facilitate the provision of land to the companies to enable them to establish their processing plants soon, stressing that the FCT masterplan envisaged four grazing reserves in Bwari, Karshi, Gwagwalada, and Rubochi.