Donation of 2.15m Bags Fertilizers part of Existing Intervention – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has clarified that the donation of 2.15 million bags of fertilizers to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security was from a stockpile of an existing initiative, not a new intervention programme.

In a circular on its website, the Bank stated that the donation of blended fertilizers was intended to support food security, rather than letting the supplies go to waste.

The bank clarified that the fertilizers distributed were part of leftover stock from previous agricultural interventions, and were not newly blended for the purpose. It also reiterated its stance that its primary function is to implement monetary policy, and it does not engage in development financing through intervention programmes.

According to the circular, “the Central Bank of Nigeria has not initiated any new intervention but has rather donated fertilisers from the remnants of its stock, which were blended under its previous interventions in the agricultural sector. 

“This decision is aimed at supporting domestic agricultural production rather than allowing the fertilisers to remain unused and go to waste. 

“We anticipate that the fertilisers will ultimately support our overall objective of price stability, which is being challenged by rising food inflation. 

“As stated by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria on several occasions, the CBN is realigning its focus towards its core mandate of ensuring monetary and price stability, thus stopping its direct involvement in development finance interventions. 

“The CBN will, however, support relevant organisations that possess the expertise and capacity to intervene directly,” the statement read in part.

Previously, Economic Confidential learned that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had distributed over 2 million bags of fertilizers valued at N100 billion to farmers through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

The fertilizers were part of an existing CBN-supported initiative to bolster agricultural productivity and food security.