Nigeria's President
Muhammadu Buhari has urged banks to boost lending to the agriculture
sector in an effort to kick-start a sluggish economy battered by global falling
oil prices, Reuters news agency reports.
The move is part of
Mr Buhari's drive to encourage diversification away from oil production in
Africa's largest economy.
"Our real
wealth is in farming, livestock, hatcheries, fishery, horticulture and
forestry," Mr Buhari told a gathering of the advisory National Economic
Council (NEC) in the capital, Abuja.
"Banks should
be leaned upon to substantially increase their lending to the agricultural
sector. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should bear part of the risk of such
loans as a matter of national policy," he said, Reuters reports.
Mr Buhari, who came
to power in May, said his government planned to add 10,000 megawatts to the
national grid in its remaining three years in office.
Falling crude oil
revenue, which accounts for 70% of Nigeria's income, has caused the
economy to grow by just 2.8% last year - its slowest pace in decades.
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