The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, has appealed to the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to reconsider the position of the bank on intervention programmes, especially in the agriculture sector.

Bagudu made the appeal on Thursday while addressing the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Forum in Abuja.

He commended the cooperation between the fiscal and monetary policy authorities, which he said is in the best interest of the country’s economy.

The minister noted that though he appreciated the central bank’s position that it would not intervene directly, the fiscal authority, however, believed it should spend more on domestic production because the country had a strong capacity in agriculture and solid minerals.

Bagudu pointed out that it was essential to invest more in agriculture, mainly because of the incremental security gains, which had enhanced production in challenged farming areas in the Northwest and Northeast, noting that the enhanced agricultural production was helping to bring down food prices across the country.

According to the minister, “Borno State recorded one of the highest harvests comparable to the pre-Boko-Haram era. Kaduna State is improving, and many other states are improving.

“So, how do we ensure that we don’t miss that opportunity? Yes, we might have been disappointed with some of the interventions in the past, but maybe we have gained knowledge to calibrate and ensure that we do better in a way that will support further growth in domestic production because the transmission mechanism between domestic output and productivity gains, and inflation effort is very, very strong.”

He noted that the administration’s economic reforms were working and had set the economy on the right path of inclusive growth and development, as acknowledged by global business leaders and rating agencies.

“In the last 18 months, we have seen increased collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, and something maybe least appreciated is that we have a president who himself is very knowledgeable on the trade-offs involved between fiscal and monetary policy and the Renewed Hope Agenda in a way is a balancing act,” he said.

He said the collaboration had been aided by the wealth of experience of its drivers, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, who had worked with President Bola Tinubu in the past.