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From Uche Usim, Daura
President Muhammadu Buhari and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, on Monday inaugurated the first National Agriculture Land Development Authority (NALDA) integrated farm estate in Suduje Daura, Katsina State, aimed at tackling food insufficiency and boosting exports of agricultural products.
Also at the event were the Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari; his Kebbi State counterpart, Atiku Bagudu; the Minister of Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika; the Director General, NALDA, Paul Ikonne, federal and state lawmakers, among others.
Speaking at the event, President Buhari said that the project was a journey towards guaranteeing food security in the country and ensuring the greater involvment of youths in the agriculture value chain.
He assured the citizenry that Nigeria, on his watch, will produce what it eats.
“The integrated farming scheme creates a communal system that promotes food security. I reiterate my commitment that getting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty is doable. We have good climate and soil. No excuse is enough to run a mono-economy, especially with the volatile nature of oil.
“We need to earn more forex through agriculture. This project shows our genuine desire to meet food sufficiency.
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I direct all government institutions to work in synergy to diversify the economy and work with NALDA to replicate this in all the senatorial zones of Nigeria”, he stated.
The President added that he believes that once Nigeria becomes sufficient in food crops and animal production, the country will be positioned to be a major exporter of food and non-food agriculture products.
Meanwhile, Vanguard Media Limited, publishers of Vanguard newspapers, at the weekend, conferred the 2020 Public Sector Icon of the Year award on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, as part of its Personalities of the Year award for 2019 and 2020.
In his speech at the event, its General Manager and Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, said the awards honour iconic men and women, whose contributions to ensure a better society stood them out as the best of the best in 2019 and 2020.
According to the organizers of the event, Emefiele’s award was in recognition of his policies at the apex bank, which have helped strengthen the economy,
Since he assumed office in June 2014, he has come up with new strategies to make the economy scale hurdles, such as foreign exchange scarcity, economic recession, stagflation, financial inclusion and the gap in the value chains of majority of crops in Nigeria.
With the advent of the COVID-19, the Emefiele-led CBN also introduced measures such as the creation of N100 billion Target Credit Facility(TCF), for affected households and small and medium enterprises to mitigate the adverse impact of the pandemic.
