Obinna Chima
In line with its development mandate, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) thursday explained that the food security programme which it initiated in November 2016 on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis has started yielding the desired results.
According to the central bank, with stability in prices, the federal government has decided to buy back the grains from the companies it (CBN) supported then, with the intention to distribute same to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the various camps across the country.
“The Federal Government through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is now set to distribute 332,741 bags of Maize, 682,726 bags of Soy bean and 229,360 bags of Sorghum to IDP camps in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba States,” a statement last night disclosed.
The Bank said its decision to support the food security initiative then was necessitated by the desire to stabilise the rising grain prices coupled with dire need for the federal Government to shore up its Strategic Grain Reserves.
It further pointed out that despite the good grain harvest experienced by farmers, there was a huge demand from other African countries through the land borders occasioned by the fall in naira value.
“With the funds made available by the CBN from the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the companies were able to purchase grains from farmers. And to date, a total of 30,905.08 MT of grains, namely Maize, Soy bean and Sorghum have been purchased and stored in different locations across the country,” it added.
