The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said that Nigerians can now buy rice for as low as N8,000.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said that Nigerians can now buy rice for as low as N8,000.
CBN on Tuesday said its Anchor Borrowers Programme for the promotion of agriculture has provided rice which Nigerians can now buy for as low as N8,000, as against foreign rice sold for N22,000 adding that the programme had set the countryto begin exportation of rice by 2017.
“We should eat Nigerian rice provided for by the CBN Anchor Programme; 50 Kg of local rice is now N8, 000 in Ebonyi. Already, the Abia Government has ordered rice from Ebonyi for Christmas,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the CBN and the Presidential Committee on Rice Production launched in July had jointly set the target.
The Acting Director of Corporate Communications of the apex bank, Isaac Okorafor, said this in Yenagoa at a sensitisation workshop for farmers.
The theme of the workshop is entitled: “Promoting Stability and Economic Development’’.
According to him, farmers in Kebbi, Jigawa, Ebonyi, Sokoto and Cross River states, among others, have already keyed into the programme, resulting in massive rice cultivation.
He said the country would achieve self-sustenance in rice production if the momentum was sustained, adding that the country should commence exportation of locally produced rice by 2017.
Mr. Okorafor said Kebbi State had already harvested one million tons of rice, adding that Ebonyi’s harvest had outstripped the earmarked production for the year.
“The development is encouraging and by the end of 2017, we will not only meet our national demand which is between six and seven million tons but have surplus to export.
