The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stated that it will be boosting the production of food in the country with fertilisers, News About Nigeria reports.
The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this while handing over N100 billion worth of fertilisers to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security on Wednesday.
The fertiliser, which was contained in over 2.15 million bags, was handed over to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, at the headquarters of the FMAFS in Abuja.
Cardoso noted that one of the primary mandates of the CBN was to maintain price stability, adding that the cost of food was a crucial component of inflation.
He also stated that a substantial portion of household expenditure in Nigeria is allocated towards food and non-alcoholic beverages.
He stressed the fact that while the CBN has been implementing several measures to curb inflation in the short term, the inflationary pressures have remained predominantly driven by escalating food prices.
According to him, while transient inflationary pressures might persist, the government anticipates substantial alleviation by the third quarter of 2024.
“This reinforces the critical need to address food inflation as a pivotal aspect of managing overall headline inflation rates.
“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.
“In this light, we aim to extend our support and foster closer ties with ministries, departments, and agencies that bear the mandate and expertise to undertake these critical initiatives,” he stated.
