Abuja, March 14, 2024 – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has donated abou two million bags of fertilizers worth about N100 billion to farmers.
The donation was made through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to farmers on Wednesday.
Yemi Cardoso, the Governor of the CBN, delivered the bags of fertilizers to Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, at a ceremony on Wednesday in Abuja.
Cardoso said the donation was in line with the fundamental objective of the CBN and ministry of agriculture ministry to provide food security.
He said the gesture would not only impact positively on the livelihoods of Nigerians, but is also reduce the rising cost of food.
“The CBN places a significant emphasis on maintaining price stability as one of its primary mandates.
“Food prices are a crucial component of inflation, especially considering that a substantial portion of household expenditure in Nigeria is allocated to food and non-alcholic beverages.
“This reinforces the critical need to address food inflation as a pivotal aspect of managing overall headline inflation,” the CBN governor said.
Cardoso further stated that the apex bank has implemented various measures over time to control inflation.
Cardoso, however, said that in spite of the gesture short-term inflationary pressures might persist, primarily driven by increasing food costs.
Cardoso said the current situation informed the collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to jointly address the surge in food prices.
“In the short term, the inflationary pressure may persist, predominantly driven by escalating food prices.
“This is why we are strengthening our collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security with the shared objective of mitigating the surge in food prices.
“The CBN has veered away from direct quasi-fiscal intervention and transiting towards leveraging conventional monetary policy tools for executing monetary policy effectively.
“We want to extend our support and closer ties with Ministry, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that bear this mandate.
“And we aim to enhance our partnership with the agriculture ministry to enhance food productivity and security,” he said.
While receiving the donation, Kyari commended the apex bank for its generous donation.
He assured the CBN governor that the fertilisers would be judiciously distributed to farmers.
“We will deliver the fertilisers to the farmers and ensure its judicious use to address the galloping inflation,” he said. (GBN)
