The Federal Government has said that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN)’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) for 2019 is targeting 100,000 cotton farmers across the country.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya A’isha Abubakar, disclosed this on Wednesday in Zaria, Kaduna State, at a one-day stakeholders forum on good cotton seed production to enhance the cotton value chain in Niger.
The theme of the forum was, “Increasing the Production of Good Quality Cotton Seed for Sustainable Growth of Nigeria’s Cotton, Textile and Garment Sector”.
The minister, who was represented by Mrs. Omololu Opeewe, the Director, Commodities and Products Inspectorate Department (CPID), said the Federal Government placed much emphasis on how to improve cotton production in Nigeria.
She said it was in furtherance of its economic diversification agenda that the Federal Government developed the Cotton Textile and Garment (CTG) policy, adding that the primary aim of the policy was to boost local production and the processing of cotton.
Abubakar explained that in implementing the policy, the ministry had over time engaged relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other stakeholders to design and develop specific programmes and projects for the CTG sub-sector.
“Presently, the ministry is working with NACOTAN to facilitate access to the ABP of CBN. The strategy is to increase cotton production and link it to a ready market to achieve self-sufficiency and create jobs.
“In this respect, it is proposed that a minimum of 100,000 farmers with two hectares each are expected to participate in the 2019 wet season of ABP.
On this note, a target yield of 1.5 metric tonnes per hectare, 300,000 metric tonnes of seed cotton will be processed by the ginning companies, while 114,000 metric tonnes of cotton lint will be available to the textile mills,” the minister stated.
