Agriculture

Nigerian Farmers to Get $1.1 Billion Loan Intervention from CBN

By Obiajulu Joel Nwolu

June 19, 2020

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it plans to empower farmers with N432 billion ($1.1 billion) intervention loan to upscale food production during the planting season.

The apex bank said through its Twitter handle on Thursday that about one million farmers will be given loan to cultivate more than one million hectares of land to ensure adequate food supply as the economic effects of covid-19 unravels.

The West African nation has been pushing for more investment in the agricultural sector as a drift from reliance on crude, which accounts for estimated 90% of the countries revenues. The CBN projects increased production of cash crops such as cotton, rice, tomato, cassava, cocoa and maize for self-reliance cum revenue generation through export.