CBN Guarantees Loans Worth N130.90bn to Farmers under Agricultural Credit Scheme

• Rewards Farmers for Loan Utilisation, Repayment

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that a total of 1,232,326 loans valued at N130.90 billion had been guaranteed to farmers under its Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) from its inception in 1977 to May 2022.

The Apex bank revealed that 973,646 beneficiaries had also repaid a total of N98.91 billion out of the total disbursements.

The central bank also stated that it guaranteed the sum of N22.58 million to 82 loan beneficiaries under the scheme in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between January and May 2022, bringing the total guaranteed loans in the FCT to N1.748 billion from 14,258 loans.

The CBN Director, Development Finance Department, Mr. Yila Yusuf, made the figures known during the National Ceremony for the 2021 Best Farmer of the Year Award held at the 40th ACGSF Board Meeting in Abuja.

Yusuf, noted that in terms of loan recovery, 11,726 loans valued N801.05 million were repaid under the scheme in the FCT from the inception of the programme.

Yusuf, represented by the Chairman, Board of ACGSF, Mr. Stephen Okon, explained that the scheme had proved to be relatively successful in de-risking the agricultural sector, as evidenced in the number of loans guaranteed from inception to date.

According to him, the award was introduced in the 1980s to recognise selected farmers that borrowed under the scheme and repaid within a specified period while adopting best agronomic practices to achieve good yields.

The CBN director added that the gesture was expected to serve as an incentive for participating in the scheme and inculcating good repayment behaviour with a view to encouraging more participants.

He opined that the event could not have come at a better time than now when economies the world over are experiencing challenges resulting from the Russian – Ukrainian War.

Yusuf lamented that the impact of the hostilities – including global oil and food crises affecting the agricultural sector, had contributed to disruptions in domestic food supply chains and other shocks affecting food production.

Consequently, he said, this had led to the loss of incomes, food security risks, inflationary trends, and creating serious tensions in many countries, stressing that achieving food security not only carries significant benefits for human health but also assists as the basis to achieve sustained economic growth.

He pointed out that being awakened by a potential rise in food insecurity, many countries and organisations are mounting special efforts to keep agriculture safely running as an essential business.

On his part, the Branch Controller, CBN, Abuja, Mr. Ogbu Michael, highlighted that the ACGSF was not only an important programme of the apex bank but the first development finance intervention scheme to be established by the bank, noting that the scheme heralded the birth of the Development Finance Department (DFD) of the bank.

Michael, affirmed that it was obvious that the successes achieved under the ACGSF had led to significant improvement in Deposit Money Banks’ (DMB) lending to the agricultural sector, as well as led to remarkable growth in the agri-business value chain in the country.

The annual award ceremony provides an opportunity, he said to recognise the tremendous strides made by participating farmers under the scheme, stressing that the visibility to the programme among prospective participants and ultimately signal the CBN’s resolve at ensuring the achievement of food self-sufficiency in the country.