The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, handed over N100 billion worth of fertilisers to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
The ceremonial handover took place at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, where the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, received the substantial contribution.
During the handing over ceremony, Governor Cardoso emphasized the CBN’s commitment to maintaining price stability, identifying the cost of food as a critical component of inflation.
He noted that addressing food inflation is pivotal due to the significant portion of household expenditure allocated to food and non-alcoholic beverages in Nigeria.
Despite the implementation of various measures by the CBN to curb inflation, the inflationary pressures remain largely driven by escalating food prices.
Cardoso acknowledged the challenges posed by transient inflationary pressures but expressed optimism about substantial alleviation by the third quarter of 2024.
The collaboration between the CBN and the Ministry of Agriculture aims to mitigate the surge in food prices by enhancing food productivity and security.
In alignment with its strategic shift, the CBN veered away from direct quasi-fiscal interventions and transitioned towards leveraging conventional monetary policy tools to execute monetary policies.
As part of this strategy, the CBN announced the allocation of 2.15 million bags of fertiliser valued at over N100 billion to support the Ministry of Agriculture in its efforts to enhance food productivity and security.
Minister Kyari praised the CBN for providing fertilisers, emphasizing their significance as the majority cost value in agricultural production inputs.
He highlighted the challenges faced by the agriculture sector due to various factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, flooding, climate change, and the naira redesign policy.
However, Kyari expressed optimism about mitigating these challenges and reiterated the importance of fertilisers in agricultural production.
