The World Bank, yesterday, said it has approved credit facilities of $300 million for Nigeria to boost farming output and food security. A $200 million loan will go to small-holder farmers organised in clusters in six of the country’s 36 states for producers of rice, cassava, sorghum and other staples, the World Bank said.
Another $100 million will be used to improve crop yields, promote market access and better management. Nigeria is the world’s second-largest importer of rice and sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest wheat and sugar buyer. President Goodluck Jonathan’s government plans to stop rice imports, now costing 1 billion naira a day ($6.2 million), by 2015.
