The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has received 2.15 million bags of assorted fertilisers from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The assorted fertilisers would be distributed to farmers to curb food inflation in the country as well as boost food production and food security.
Sen. Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, who spoke at the event on Wednesday in Abuja, expressed gratitude to the President Bola Tinubu and CBN for the gesture.
Kyari assured the CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, that the inputs would be judiciously used and delivered to the intended farmers.
“Thank you very much; this is more than goodies; 2.15 million bags of assorted fertilisers; we want to express our profound appreciation on behalf of the Nigerian farmers and President Tinubu.
“Also, we appreciate you, our dear brother, the CBN governor and your team for giving us this wonderful gift.
“I want to assure you that it will be judiciously used and it will be delivered to the last man and intended farmers where they can reap the benefits of this huge gesture.
“They (farmers) can in turn cultivate and produce more that would stem the galloping food inflation that is affecting our country.’’
He said that challenges such as food prices, food cultivation, flooding and climate change among others had impacted on agricultural production in the country, adding that insecurity was on decline.
“l am happy to say that those things I mentioned are on the decline; insecurity is on the decline and we are mitigating against climate change.
“We are sensitising farmers to go into dry season agriculture.’’
Kyari said that there was need to need to boost and repair irrigation infrastructure so as to have all year round farming.
“Which (irrigation) is even more secured than that of the wet season farming,” he said.
Earlier, Cardoso expressed enthusiasm for the visit and presentation which was to address the issue of escalating cost of food in the country.
According to him, food prices are crucial components of inflation.
He said that the CBN aimed to enhance its partnership with the ministry to improve food production.
“This is precisely why we convene today to strengthen our collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture to mitigate the surge in food prices.
“The gesture is in alignment with our strategic shift towards focusing on our fundamental mandate.
“The CBN has veered away from direct quasi-fiscal interventions and transitioned towards leveraging conventional monetary policy tools for executing monetary policies effectively.
“In this light, we aim to extend our support and foster closer ties with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) with the mandate and expertise to undertake these critical initiatives.
“Consequently, we aim to enhance our partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, bolstering your endeavours to enhance food productivity and security, ultimately curbing food inflation and fortifying our pursuit of price stability.
“In pursuit of these shared goals, we are delighted to announce the allocation of 2.15 million bags of fertilisers valued at over N100 billion which we humbly hand over to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
“This contribution from CBN aims to amplify food production capabilities and foster price stabilisation within the agricultural sector,” he said.