The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reportedly returned to subsidizing the agricultural sector in response to the nation’s food security issues.
2.5 million bags of fertilizer would be distributed to farmers by the apex bank, which has set up N100 billion for this purpose.
Agriculture investment, according to CBN Governor Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, will boost food production and lower inflation, which is already at 29.9%.
He made the following statement yesterday during the fertilizer transfer ceremony held at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security: “As we all know, one of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s core duties is to preserve price stability.
Given that a sizeable amount of household spending in Nigeria is devoted to food and non-alcoholic drinks, food costs are an important factor in inflation.
This underlines how important it is to handle food inflation as a crucial component of controlling headline inflation rates overall. Even while the CBN has been taking extensive steps to reduce inflation, it is clear that, at least in the near run, inflationary pressures—primarily caused by rising food prices—may continue.
“We have gathered today to enhance our cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture in an effort to lessen the recent spike in food costs.The CBN has shifted from direct quasi-fiscal interventions to utilizing traditional monetary policy tools in order to effectively carry out monetary policies, in line with our strategic focus on our core mandate.
With this in mind, we want to strengthen our relationships and provide more assistance to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) that have the authority and know-how to carry out these important projects.
As a result, we would like to strengthen our collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture in order to support your efforts to improve food security and production, which will ultimately lead to a reduction in food prices and strengthen our commitment to price stability.
We are happy to announce the distribution of 2.15 million fertiliser bags, worth over 100 billion Naira, which we humbly hand over to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in pursuit of these common aims. The Central Bank hopes to strengthen the agriculture sector’s capacity for food production and promote price stability through this contribution.