The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the release of 50,000 metric tonnes of maize to farmers in Nigeria.
The recipients of the grains include: Obasanjo Farm, Premier Flour Mills, Crown-Olam, Grand Cereals, Animal Care, Amobyn and Hybrid Feeds, Zartech, Wacot, Sayeed Farms, Pandagri Novum and Premium Farms.
The maize was released from Strategic Maize Reserve (SMR) under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).
The release of maize to the companies, which is the third of such releases, is also intended to check the activities of middlemen aimed at causing hoarding the product and causing artificial scarcity.
Confirming the release of the grains, the CBN spokesman, Osita Nwanisobi expressed optimism that the release would crash the price of maize, reduce pressure on the market, and make the product directly available to feed producers, thereby reducing the price of poultry feed in the country.
As part of the bank’s financing framework, Nwanisobi said the CBN would continue to facilitate the funding of maize farmers and processors through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) Commodity Association, Private/Prime Anchors, State Governments, Maize Aggregation Scheme (MAS), and the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS).