The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said its interventions in key products saved the country N1.3 trillion import bill.
The CBN Deputy
Governor, Corporate Services, Mr Edward Adamu, disclosed this at the ongoing
28th Seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors in Owerri on
Tuesday.
The theme of the seminar is “Galvanising
Development Finance and Monetary Policy For Growth”. Represented by the
Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr Isaac Okorafor, Adamu listed
the key products as rice, fish, sugar, and wheat. He said the apex bank was
determined and committed to improving the domestic supply of these four
commodities. “As you are aware, the CBN increased its lending to the
agricultural and manufacturing sectors. “This is done through targeted
intervention schemes such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, Commercial
Agricultural Credit Scheme and the Real Sector Support Facility. “In
particular, we sought to improve the domestic supply of four commodities, rice,
fish, sugar, and wheat which consumed about N1.3 trillion annually in our
nation’s import bill,” he said. The deputy governor said the CBN’s efforts at
these development finance initiatives had helped to accelerate the
actualisation of the Federal Government’s economic diversification programme.
He added that Diversifying the economic base presented a more sustainable and
stable option. “It is our conviction that focusing our developmental efforts on
sectors with inherent potential for growth, employment and accretion to foreign
reserves would enhance the fortune of the Nigerian economy.”