Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the umbrella bank would support smallholder farmers to boost food production.
According to information on CBN’s verified Twitter account, Emefiele said the support would allow farmers to improve their yields.
Emefiele expressed his commitment at the launch of the Rivers Cassava Processing Company on May 27 in Afam, Oyigbo Local Government Area, Rivers State, designed to support improved production and processing of cassava into high quality flour.
He said the CBN remains committed to working with state governments to support smallholder farmers and processors of various commodities such as cassava, palm oil and fisheries.
He praised the efforts of the Rivers government, in collaboration with Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, the Netherlands Embassy Investment Nigeria Ltd. and their technical partners, in setting up the integrated installation.
He said the cassava processing facility will support CBN’s mandate to promote Nigeria’s economic growth.
“The cassava processing facility will also provide farmers with a verifiable platform to access financing from CBN and other financial institutions through our anchor borrower program.
“With the capacity to process over 45,000 tonnes of cassava, this facility will provide high quality cassava flour to households, industries and bakeries.
“The facility will help reduce our dependence on imported cassava by-products, which serves as a key input in the production of food products in several factories. Nigeria imports over $ 580 million in cassava by-products annually, ”he said.
Emefiele added that CBN development finance initiatives focused on creating an enabling environment that would stimulate public and private sector participation in the real sector of the economy.
He said such initiatives would achieve strategic results around price stability, job creation, financial inclusion, import substitution and increasing foreign exchange reserves.
The governor of the CBN revealed that Rivers State had already accessed more than 13 billion naira from the various CBN intervention programs, and that their loan status remained in order.
