•Again, Emefiele opposes maize importation, tasks youths on agriculture
Obinna Chima in Lagos and James Emejo in Abuja
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday extended indefinitely its ‘Naira 4 Dollar Scheme’ introduced to encourage remittances from Nigerians in the Diaspora.
The CBN, in a circular posted on its website, said the initiative initially expected to end this month would continue until further notice in order to sustain the gains of the scheme.
Also yesterday, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the bank would continue to resist the importation of maize into the country.
The CBN had in a circular dated March 5, 2021, signed by Mr. A.S. Jibrin, on behalf of the Director, Trade and Exchange Department stated that the ‘Naira 4 Dollar Scheme,’ which became effective in March, would end tomorrow.
With the initiative, all recipients of Diaspora remittances through CBN’s licensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) are paid N5 for every $1 received as remittance inflow.
The CBN, in the circular, had said: “The CBN shall through commercial banks, pay to remittance recipients the incentive of N5 for every $1 remitted by the sender and collected by the designated beneficiary.
“This incentive is to be paid to recipients whether they choose to collect the United States dollar as cash across the counter in a bank or transfer same into their domiciliary account. In effect, a typical recipient of Diaspora remittances will at the point of collection, receive not only the USD sent from abroad, but also the additional N5 per USD received.”
But the CBN, in the latest circular shifting the deadline said: “Further to the CBN circular referenced: TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/01/003 dated March 5, 2021, on the above subject matter, which was originally scheduled to end on May 8, 2021, we hereby announce the continuation of the scheme until further notice.
“All aspects of the operationalisation of the programme remain the same. Please take note and ensure compliance.”
Emefiele had highlighted the benefits of the scheme, saying that it was expected to attract Diaspora remittances through the official foreign exchange channels as well as support forex stability in Nigeria.
Emefiele had said it would offer Nigerians in the Diaspora a convenient way to send remittances, adding that it would also aid Diaspora investments.
“Our policy on the administration of remittance flows is aimed at increasing the transparency of remittance inflows, reducing rent-seeking activities, and providing Nigerians in the Diaspora with cheaper and more convenient ways of sending remittances to Nigeria.
“In addition, we believe that this new policy measure will encourage banks and financial institutions to develop products and investments vehicles geared towards attracting investments from Nigerians in the Diaspora. We have no doubt that these changes can help to finance a future stream of investment opportunities for Nigerians living abroad,” he had said.
Again, Emefiele Opposes Maize Importation, Tasks Youths on Agriculture
In another development, Emefiele yesterday expressed the bank’s continued opposition to the importation of maize into the country.
According to him, maize farmers currently have what it takes to close the over 4.5 million metric tonnes demand gap.
He said with over 50,000 bags of the commodity readily available as well as other aggregated quantities across the country, the farmers were sending a message that “we can grow enough maize to meet the country’s demand.”
Emefiele, during the unveiling of the first maize pyramid and the launch of 2021 maize wet season farming in Katsina State also challenged the youths to embrace agriculture.
He assured them that the central bank is ready to support farmers to better their lots and contribute to the nation’s economic development.
However, while reiterating the apex bank’s opposition to the importation of maize, Emefiele stated that it would further, resist attempts by those who seek to continually import maize into the country.
He said the maize unveiled at the ceremony would be sold to reputable feed processors and that this would impact positively on current poultry feed prices.
Justifying the bank’s continued strategic intervention in the value chains of focal crops, he said the CBN was leading the revolution “because the impact of our monetary policy measures would be limited, if the monetary authority in collaboration with the fiscal authorities failed to address some of the structural constraints that limit productivity in key sectors of our economy such as agriculture.”
He stated that the bank’s intervention is in line with its mandate and aims at ensuring price stability as well as improved availability of staple food items.
According to him, the CBN and Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN) sought to increase the targeted hectarage for 2021 to 500,000 hectares from the 2020 target of 250,000 hectares.
He added that to achieve the target, the apex bank resolved to introduce the use of contiguous land, high yielding seeds, mechanisation, leveraging technology for land mapping and monitoring as well as expanding the Strategic Maize Reserve (SMR).
Emefiele said, so far, the bank had released 100,000 metric tonnes of maize to the market, through the major producers and urged all stakeholders to sustain the current efforts to galvanise agricultural production to meet the requirements of Nigeria’s growing population.
He said the country could not continue to dwell on the neglect of past years, if it was determined to realise the national target of producing what Nigerians eat and eating what is produced in Nigeria.
However, he expressed the belief that youths could leverage their talents, along with technological tools to improve farm productivity and delivery of agricultural produce to markets.
Emefiele said while agriculture offered benefits for the youths, the central bank had put in place measures to improve access to credit for youths interested in farming under the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) as well as the Agri-Business Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme(AGSMEIS).
He added that groups of youths with contiguous land for farming are eligible to seek the bank’s support through its prime anchor arrangement.
He said: “The CBN will not only provide access to credit for these youths but will also provide guarantees that their products will be purchased by a prime anchor at agreed prices.”
In his remarks, the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, said that the state had suffered a setback in agriculture as over 60,000 hectares of farmlands were uncultivated due to banditry that has hindered farmers from gaining access to their land.
His counterpart from Kebbi State, Senator Atiku Abubakar Bagudu, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the occasion, however, reassured the farmers, processors and other value chain participants of the support of government towards ensuring that they perform optimally.
He said the availability of inputs such as high yield seedlings and fertilisers were being made available to farmers adequately in addition to prompt off-taking of produce.
Also, Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar, however, recalled with nostalgia that the historical groundnut pyramids he read about in history books were “today being seen physically in rice and maize across the country through the help of the Central Bank of Nigeria”.
He encouraged the youths to take advantage of the CBN support schemes and embrace agriculture for wealth creation.
