The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has offered to fund 1.6 million farmers across the country in the 2020 wet season using its Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).
CBN Director, Development Finance Department, Yila Yusuf disclosed this on Tuesday at the flag-off of Farm Inputs Distribution for cotton farmers in kwali, Abuja .
The CBN director who was represented by Ayoola Quadri said the bank intends to finance the farmers under the bank’s 10 focal commodities which would cut across the value chains.
This step according to him would leave an impact that would guarantee food security in the country.
He noted that CBN had engaged 256,000 farmers in cotton production for the 2020 planting season through its ABP.
“CBN is trying to bring back the glory of textiles of those days where the industry used to employ 10 million people across the country.
“In the 80s, we lost that glory because of smuggling where our country was turned to a dumping ground of textiles materials. It is an unfortunate situation, about five billion dollars was spent annually on the importation of textiles,” he said.
Anchor Borrowers Programme
ABP was launched in November 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari
It programme aimed at providing farm inputs in kind and cash to boost agricultural production and for the country to reverse its negative balance of payments on food.
Farmers captured under this programme include those cultivating cereals, cotton, roots and tubers, sugarcane, tree crops, legumes, tomato, and livestock.
Loans are disbursed through any of the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and Microfinance Banks (MFBs), all of which the programme recognises as Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs).
Upon harvest, benefiting farmers are expected to repay their loans with harvested produce (which must cover the loan principal and interest) to an ‘anchor’ who pays the cash equivalent to the farmer’s account.
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