Governors' chair indicts CBN food anchor program

The chairman of Nigeria Governors' forum also doubled as Governor of Kwara state, Mr. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has punctured the role played by Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) in the last eight years as a setback to food security.

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara state said this during his visit in the company of three other Governors from Ondo, Kogi, and Taraba to the minister of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security ( FMAFS) where he described the CBN's role in Anchor Borrower Program ( ABP) as totally taking over the role of the ministry with negative repercussions to food production.

The Governors' forum chairman lamented over the role of CBN in the last eight years as very retrogressive to food security saying there is a need to prioritize the food productivity system through dry farming of rice, cassava and maize.

He emphasized why the FMAFS should be allowed to play a lead role in agricultural initiatives so as to avoid re-occurrence of similar challenges created by CBN through the Anchor program just as he urged a renewed focus on increasing agricultural output to meet domestic demand and export to neighboring countries.

Minister of FMAFS, Senator Abubakar Kyari, echoed the need for collaboration between the federal and state governments to enhance agricultural productivity with the states joining the second phase of the  dry season food production farming.

Kyari emphasized the need for adherence to guidelines to ensure effective implementation of agricultural programs and combat challenges encountered during previous phase. 

He urged state governors to prioritize the cultivation of rice, maize, and cassava saying the crops had economic potential for empowerment, inclusivity and industrialization.

According to Sen Kyari “the collaboration between federal and state governments, coupled with adherence to structured guidelines, is seen as crucial for the success of agricultural programs and the advancement of Nigeria's agricultural sector”.