An official of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday, said the Federal Government’s intervention in cotton production had boosted productivity and created jobs for youths.
Mr Mahmood Nyako, North East Zonal Coordinator, Development, Finance Department, CBN, stated this while launching the 2021 wet season cotton production recovery under the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme.
The recovery by the apex bank is in collaboration with Cotton Producers and Merchants Association of Nigeria (COPMAN), Gombe State chapter.
The ceremony was launched in Bogo Community in Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State.
Nyako said CBN’s intervention in cotton production was yielding positive results as its production had been revamped within the period of intervention.
He stated that the intervention was to discourage importation of cotton, harness the country’s potential in cotton production as well as employ youths.
According to him, in terms of employment, cotton production has the largest value chain per hectare.
“On one hectare of cotton, you may employ up to 50 people from land preparation to cotton transportation to ginneries,” he said.
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He further stated that the intervention was to conserve foreign reserve while strengthening the naira.
The CBN official said cotton production had been revived in Gombe State, adding that ginneries in Gombe, Borno, Adamawa and Taraba were processing what was being cultivated locally.
He stated that over 4, 000 farmers in Gombe State had been assisted to cultivate 10, 000 hectares in the 2021 wet season, adding that 300 tonnes had been recovered during the launch.
As part of measures to encourage farmers to repay their loans, Nyako said the apex bank would increase the hectares of those who repaid their loans in subsequent intervention.
While calling on farmers to repay their loans, he assured them that the CBN was already preparing for dry season farming to sustain the efforts recorded during the wet season.
Mr Lawal Matazu, the national president, COPMAN, said the intervention of the Federal Government in cotton farming had boosted productivity and enriched farmers across the Northeast and other cotton producing states.
Matazu said the intervention had improved the income of cotton farmers in several communities in the country, hence, appealed for increased funding for cotton production to ensure that more farmers were accommodated.
He tasked all farmers to ensure they repaid their loans to encourage the Federal Government to do more for farmers in subsequent farming seasons.
One of the beneficiaries, Sani Sarki, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN officials who according to him, had been transparent in the implementation of the programme to ensure that genuine farmers benefitted from the intervention.
