Emefiele: How Nigeria Curbed Rice Importation, Funded Smallholder Farmers to Boost Yields

Emefiele said the CBN, through the ABP was able to support the smallholder farmers (SHF) through credit extension as well as the provision of fertilisers to them.
According to him, the CBN’s intervention helped to boost rice production from about 1.5 metric tons per hectare to about 8 metric tons per hectare through the provision of high-yield seeds to farmers.
The CBN governor, who was at the event to among other things assuage the concerns of prospective investors on the issues of foreign exchange and remittances, also spoke on the monetary and fiscal policies of the federal government.
Emefiele said, “When the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari came on board, we were importing rice.  Nigeria was the largest rice-importing nation in the world.