The Nigerian Commodity Exchange (NCX) will start operations in the fourth quarter of 2021 according to the Central bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Emefiele disclosed this while unveiling the first rice pyramids in South-West geo-political zone, according to the statement released on the CBN official Twitter handle.
Revamped Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) to commence operation by the 4th quarter of 2021
— Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) May 18, 2021
He called for more private sector investment in the Nigeria’s agricultural value chain, and urged farmers to repay loans at the appropriate time to ensure the survival of the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
Read also: Buhari seeks Senate approval for new $6.18 bn external loan
The CBN finances 3,107,890 farmers for the cultivation of 3,801,397 hectares across 21 commodities through 23 Participating Financial Institutions in the 36 States of the Federation and FCT, according to statement released by the CBN via its official Twitter handle on Tuesday.
#CBN finances 3,107,890 farmers for the cultivation of 3,801,397 hectares across 21 commodities through 23 Participating Financial Institutions in the 36 States of the Federation and FCT.
— Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) May 18, 2021
Emefiele said, “We believe significant improvements in domestic production of staple food items, would help in attaining our price stability goals while reducing our dependence on imported food items.”
The CBN said its plan is a “minimum [of] 1 million hectares of rice through a combination of RIFAN farmers and prime/private anchors for each planting season in 2021.”
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.