being widely applauded as brilliant and policymakers, conscientious our perspectives actions. are as typically different from many talking heads, as our data, information sources and outlook remain superior. i therefore enjoin our critics to avoid being hasty in their condemnation of our policies. some policies take time to bear fruit. 9. let me at this point briefly explain the macroeconomic and geopolitical contexts in which the central bank and the nation have been operating. a quick overview 10. on the global scene, a number of recent developments have noticeably impacted outcomes and outlooks especially in emerging market economies including nigerian. these include : i. rising global interest rate due to sustained tightening stance in advanced economies which consequently fragilities, and unfortunately imbalances and heightened vulnerabilities in emerging markets. the fed fund rate was raised steadily to 2. 25 percent in september 2018 with a promise for one more hike before the end of 2018 and three more in 2019. similarly, the bank of england raised its policy rate in august 2018 for the first time since 2008. some emerging markets economies, including india, indonesia, mexico and turkey have also raised interest rates in response to that shock ; ii. the consequent huge capital flow reversals in emerging markets that led to immense pressures on exchange rates, fx reserves, and sharp losses in the capital markets. argentina, brazil, south africa, turkey and russia have already depreciated their currencies significantly due to this shock ; iii. uneven fluctuations in the international prices of commodities including crude oil, gold, cocoa, etc. after hitting $ 86 per barrel in october 2018, oil prices have dropped by over 30 % as at november 25, 2018 ; iv. profound geopolitical and trade tensions ( including between us and china, us and iran, russia and western economies etc. ) which are impacting the dynamics of global trade and consequently the flow of capital ; v. the rising incidence of protectionism, nationalism, and anti - globalization especially in the western hemisphere ; and vi. uneven growth of the global economy accompanied by a tepid short - term outlook. 11. what are the likely implications of these issues on nigeria? and what steps can we take to avoid a repeat of the economic slowdown that occurred between 2016 and 2017? given the structure of our economy, cbn ’ s attention is primary focused on three factors, including ; • one, rising trade tensions between the us and china could taper global growth, and

programs such as the anchor borrowers program, nigeria incentive - based risk sharing system for agricultural lending ( nirsal ) and the national collateral registry. the cbn recently introduced the real sector support fund ; a facility meant to provide cheap funding at no more than 9 percent to new projects in the agric and manufacturing sectors ; aimed at boosting output and creating jobs. 27. in the agriculture sector, the anchor borrower programme ( abp ) has ensured that nigeria emerged from being a net importer of rice to becoming a major producer of rice, supplying key markets in neighboring countries. as at october 2018, a total number of 862, 069 farmers cultivating about 835, 239 hectares, across 16 different commodities, have so far benefited from the anchor borrowers programme, which has generated 2, 502, 675 jobs across the country. anchor borrowers program 700, 000 600, 000 500, 000 400, 000 300, 000 200, 000 100, 000 no. of farmers ( 862, 069 ) jan - nov. 14, no. of hectares ( 873, 053 ) 28. it is in light of the success of the anchor borrowers program with regards to cultivation of rice and maize that the monetary policy committee in its last meeting on the 21st of november 2018 recommended that the anchor borrowers program be applied to other areas such as palm oil, tomatoes and fisheries to mention a few. 29. our efforts at supporting small scale farmers and smes is based on our awareness of the critical role they can play in supporting our economic recovery and growth, as well as in creating job opportunities for millions of nigerians. so far, the cbn has through its msme fund disbursed over n100billion to the msme sector, but we still feel a lot can be done. under the auspices of the bankers committee, the sum of over n60 billion has so far been set aside under the agsmies fund to fund micro small and medium enterprise businesses in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors of our economy. the cbn recognizes that the greatest challenge confronting msme ’ s and local farmers is access to credit, and that to unlock the growth potentials in our country ; these groups must access funding seamlessly. in response to this challenge, the cbn will in due course take action that will directly bring banking services to the rural communities through the licensing of a national micro finance bank, which will have a presence in all local governments in nigeria,