The Central Bank of Nigeria has offered increased assistance to farmers and commodity processors ahead of this year’s dry season farming.
This is to ramp up production and make up for food losses incurred from floods which ravaged farms in parts of the country.
Floods have this year, destroyed farmlands in many parts of the country. About four hundred and fifty thousand hectares of rice was affected in Kebbi state alone.
The state, which targeted a harvest of two point five million tonnes of rice this year now projects a harvest of five hundred thousand tonnes.
Similar losses were recorded in Kano, Enugu and Nasarawa states. The implication of this, is that the country’s food production target for this year is down by at least twenty five percent, a major threat to food security.
At a meeting between the Development Finance Unit of the Central Bank , farmers and commodity processors, participants delibrated on how support through the anchor borrowers programme can be leveraged to immensely drive dry season farming, thereby bridging an imminent food supply shortfall.
The apex bank had upon assessment of the farmland damage assured that at least one million farmers will be getting assistance for dry season farming.
It is not leaving anything to chance in ensuring that the country makes the most of dry season crop cultivation.
Farmers who jeopardize the process will be penalized.
