VANGUARD
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria made history on January 18, 2022, when they co-launched the r me Rice Pyramids on the premises of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, strategically located on Airport Road, Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
It was a celebration of success in the production of rice, Nigeria’s number one staple food. Rice production had been specifically targeted by the CBN, then under the leadership of Mr. Godwin Emefiele, through the Anchor Borrowers Programme, ABP, an initiative through which the CBN expressed determination to assist Nigerians grow their food, rather than spending scarce foreign exchange (FX) on the importation of food items that can be produced in the country.
As the then CBN governor put it, the rice pyramids were a demonstration of “the courage and persuasion of our farmers and the conviction that it is still possible to do great things in our country.”
The CBN also rallied rice millers, under the umbrella of Rice Processors Association of Nigeria, RIPAN, which saw many people massively investing in rice mills across the country. The result was that there was not only abundant production of rice paddy by the farmers, there also were massive rice mills across the nation to off-take, mill and supply to the market highly processed, nutritious rice in the country.
“That is what strongly motivated the rice showboat in Abuja,” as one commentator put it.
The Rice Pyramid celebration happened exactly three years ago. The Anchor Borrowers Programme catalysed the rural economy by building a sustainable framework for financing small-holder farmers in Nigeria.
It developed an ecosystem among all nodes of the agricultural value chain, with linkages optimized through synergy among all stakeholders.
CBN data showed that as at the end of December 2021, the ABP had financed 4.489 million farmers that cultivated 5.300 million hectares across 21 commodities through 23 participating financial institutions in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
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