CBN loans N1tr to boost cultivation of 21 crops
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Up to N1.01 trillion has been disbursed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as loans to 4.2 million smallholder farmers cultivating 21 crops across the country under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).
CBN data shows that N57.91 billion was released between April and May 2022 for 185,972 new projects.
The CBN has a mandate to give the real sector easy access to credit to ensure economic stability after the recession during the pandemic.
“Between April and May 2022, the Bank released the sum of N57.91 billion under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) to 185,972 new projects for the cultivation of rice, wheat, and maize, bringing the cumulative disbursement under the Programme to N1.01 trillion, disbursed to over 4.2 million smallholder farmers cultivating 21 commodities across the country,” the CBN said.
The CBN loaned N21.23 billion under the Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme (AADS) to 10 state-led and three private sector-led projects.
“The Bank further disbursed the sum of N1.50 billion, under the Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme (AADS), to one (1) new youth-led project, piloted and funded through the Government of Ondo State for the acquisition of assets for oil-palm cultivation and the establishment of poultry farms.
“This brings the total disbursement under the Scheme to N21.23 billion for 10 state-led and three (3) private sector-led projects.”
Under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS), the bank released N21.73 billion to support seven large-scale agricultural projects.
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Aim of the ABP
Nairametrics writes that the ABP evolved from consultations with stakeholders drawn from
- Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development
- State governments
- Agro-processors
- Commodity associations
- Financial institutions and
- Smallholder farmers
The aim of the ABP is to ramp up agricultural production, boost non-oil exports and diversify the national revenue base.
The core of the ABP is to provide loans to smallholder farmers to boost agricultural production, create jobs, and reduce food imports to conserve external reserves.
The broad objective is to create economic linkages between smallholder farmers and processors to increase agricultural output and ensure stable food prices.
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