INCREASED REJUVENATION OF AGRIC SECTOR TO DRIVE ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION – CBN

In the on-going strive to boost economic development of the country, Mr. Moses Tule, Director, Monetary Policy, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during the Second In-House Review meeting of the Institute of Food Security Environmental Resources and Agricultural Research (IFSERAR), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), has called for increased development of the agricultural sector to help achieve the targeted national transformation. Presenting a paper titled, “The Dutch Disease, Sustainable Agriculture and Monetary Policy in Nigeria” at the event which was tagged “Restoring the Primacy of Agriculture in the Nigerian Economy”, Mr. Tule stated that the Dutch disease became a common phrase to describe a situation in which a boom in the natural resource sector, shrinks the manufacturing and agricultural sectors through Crowding- out Effect and an appreciation of the real exchange rate. He listed out the factors that would ensure sustainability in agriculture to include increase in government’s provision of infrastructure, competitive pricing of agricultural commodities, private investment, high per capita income, reduction in exchange rate depreciation and the availability of credits. According to him, the CBN had often complemented its traditional role with a quasi-fiscal function, using unconventional monetary policy instruments, like dual interest rates, quantitative easing policies and by developing interventions in the agricultural sector, among others. Welcoming participants to the meeting, the Director of IFSERAR, Professor Akin Omotayo, appreciated the university management for the confidence reposed in him and his team to pilot the affairs of the Institute. He noted that the collaboration between IFSERAR and the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), had yielded a lot for the Institute, added that for the current year, IFSERAR had empowered many farmers by giving them maize seeds free of charge for planting, so as to increase food production. http://agronigeria.com.ng/