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| Chief Audu Ogbeh |
Ogbeh gave this assurance while speaking during an assessment tour of Coscharis Rice Farm in Anaku, in the Ayemelum Local Government Area of Anambra state.
He said Nigeria spends over $3billion on food import annually, stressing that this was unacceptable for a country with huge potential to produce food.
He said, “When we go round the country, we begin to have great confidence in our rich endowments and I think Nigeria’s independence is just begining to be established, because unless a country can feed itself and feed well, every other dream can’t be fulfilled.”
The minister wondered how much investments the Coscharis Group had made on rice farming in just two years, stressing that by replicating such ventures across 26 states with potential to produce rice, Nigeria would save so much in foreign currency.
“I have seen similar things in Kebbi and I am seeing this big one, I am very proud of Coscharis and the effort the governor of Anambra state is making to support him.“In another year, we will have no need to import one grain of rice into this country.
“In fact we may stop rice importation sooner than that. It is final word I am telling you, because Nigerians have proven that they can do it and I am proud that I can see this thing in Anambra. Because people who don’t know Anambra do not even know what potential sexist for agriculture. I am also proud of the role the CBN is playing because they are giving a lot of credit support, even allocating the scarce foreign exchange that we have to a critical sector like agriculture.
“This is heavily mechanized, the smaller farmers don’t have all these machinery but they contribute immensely. So jobs, jobs and jobs, the millers are there, the marketers, the transporters, the distributors, all of them will be part of this business, just for rice. We have not even talked about cassava, of maize, of soghurm, of millets, beans, yams so the future is huge, the jobs are there.”
Also speaking, the Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the bank was spurred to support agriculture because the country ran into a situation where its reserves had been badly depleted, largely due to massive importation of rice when indeed it can grow rice,.
He said: “we import tomatoes, when we can grow tomatoes, we are importing milk, when we can grow diary. We have people and companies in Nigeria that can take up the initiative, but we have been importing milk for over 60 years.
“There is a company that has been producing milk for 60 years, and I say it is time those kind of companies began to produce our diary in Nigeria.”
Emefiele said the apex bank would continue to encourage investors like the Coscharis Group because of their commitment in the business.
“We started this with him, almost about two years ago when we granted him a N2 billion Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS).
“With his own resources, he added to it and that is why he is where he is today. Those are the type of things we need to continue to encourage.
“And about a month ago, he came to the CBN that we need to come and see what he has done with the CACS fund we gave to him. I must say that I am delighted that he has used the money well. And when he came, he requested for more money because he wants to have the capacity to produce rice all-year round, that is three harvests in a year.
“To do so, he needs irrigation and he needs his mill. And I am happy to say yesterday, the Committee of Governors of CBN gave approval for him to set up a mill here and also set up his irrigation. That is the kind of support we would give people who have shown interest, because there is no foreign exchange to import food, when we can produce food in the country.
“After that, the next stage is to begin to encourage him, together with the state governor for supporting the initiative, to be able to create jobs for the youths.”
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