UNIPORT, four others selected for CBN’s University-Based Poultry Production Programme

Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria governor (CBN), has explained that about $1.2 billion is used to import fish in Nigeria annually.

The CBN boss who disclosed this during a meeting with state Governors and the media over feat recorded in agriculture for economic growth, explained that the current fish production in the country stood at 0.8 million tons as against the demand of 2.7 million tons with a deficit of 1.9 million tons.

Emefiele said the CBN’s current initiative is to engage governors of the coastal state to enhance the development of a blue economy which would address the country’s deficit of 1.9metric tons, and also eradicate the huge import bill for fish.

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He said the blue economy is a huge economic opportunity for the states to create an enabling environment for investments.

In another development, the central bank governor said that major innovation to deepen the poultry business in the country was the recent partnership between the apex bank and tertiary institutions to pilot the “The University-Based Poultry Production Programme”.

He said twelve 12 Universities across the six geo-political zones would be used for the pilot programme.

He added that the objective is not only to build future agripreneurs, but also to make the universities to be able to improve in their internally generated revenues.

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“For the pilot phase, five Nigerian Universities, namely; Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and University of Ilorin were enrolled.

“These Universities have submitted a revised proposal to their respective sponsoring banks,” he said.