Nigerian farmers under the CBN Anchor Borrowers programme received close to N13 billion between January and February this year.
Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor made this known in Abuja, during its 29th Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meeting, saying that the apex bank disbursed N12.65 billion to farmers within the period.
He explained that the total funds disbursed under the agricultural interventionist’s programme have now risen to N1.09 trillion since its kick-off six years ago.
The ABP was launched in 2015 by the apex bank to assist farmers to boost the production of food in the country. s
According to the apex bank governor, the ABP has assisted close to five million smallholder farmers in the cultivation and rearing of 21 agricultural commodities.
Emefiele said, “Between January and February 2023, the bank disbursed N12.65 billion to three agricultural projects under the ABP.
“It brings the cumulative disbursement under the programme to N1.09 trillion to more than 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating or rearing 21 agricultural commodities on an approved 6.02 million hectares of farmland.
“Cumulative disbursements under the real sector facility currently stands at N2.43 trillion disbursed to 462 projects across the country, comprising 257 manufacturing, 95 agriculture, 97 services and 13 mining sector projects.”
The International Monetary Fund, IMF, early in the month said the ABP has not achieved desired results, because it has been mismanaged. For instance, the Fund said out of the total funds disbursed to farmers under the programme, 76 per cent had not been paid, adding that farmers who benefitted may have diverted the funds.
IMF said, “For the Anchor Borrowing Program, repayment is also low at 24 percent, especially since repayment can be made in kind, thereby limiting the tenor of the loans to one year,” the report reads.
“Part of the problem is that the incentive structure for repayment is weak, the recipient loans are not always well targeted and occasionally the funding is used for other purchases (e.g., new agricultural input trading companies to elicit trading rents).”
