The Central Bank of Nigeria revealed that the loan repayment ratio under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) is 53.39% or a total sum of N503 billion out of a possible N942 billion.
This was disclosed in a statement on Monday by Dr. AbdulMumin Isa, Acting Director, of the Corporate Communications Department of the bank.
The CBN added that it is fully committed to developing and offering finance for Nigeria’s agriculture sector.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the total repayment of loans under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) stood at N503 billion, representing 52.39%.
Figures: The CBN chief in the statement revealed that it released N1.079 trillion under the program, out of which N960 billion is due for repayment, citing that the statement read:
- “The ABP had supported about 4.57 million smallholder farmers who cultivated over 6.02 million hectares of 21 commodities across the country.
- “ The commodities as rice, wheat, cowpea, millet, maize, cotton, fish, soya bean, poultry, cassava, groundnut, ginger, sorghum, oil palm, cocoa, sesame, tomato, castor seed, yellow pepper, onions, and cattle/dairy.
He added the ABP had contributed significantly to the increased national output of focal commodities, with maize and rice peaking at 12.2 and 9.0 million metric tonnes in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Repayment: Isa revealed that total repayment of loans under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) stood at N503 billion, representing 52.39%, adding that repayments under the ABP have been made through cash or produced by the beneficiaries.
He also added that the outstanding due balance on loans was still under moratorium due to the COVID-19 forbearance granted to beneficiaries of the apex bank’s interventions in March 2020 and extended to Feb. 28, 2022.
- “It is pertinent to note that the tenor of loans under the ABP is based on the commodity gestation period.
- “For instance, loans granted to farmers cultivating some perennial crops could have up to seven-year tenor,” he said.
The CBN chief said it remains committed to its developmental mandate of stimulating access to finance for the real sector, particularly agriculture, as it continues to support the Federal Government’s drive for food security and economic growth.
- “Accordingly, the CBN continues to welcome applications from eligible Nigerian farmers and firms under the ABP.”
What you should know
Nairametrics reported last November that the CBN dismissed claims that it plans to stop the Anchor Borrowers programme.
CBN Governor Godwin Emfiele stated that the apex bank will instead take a more aggressive approach to help farmers survive the impact of the devastating flooding across the country.
The CBN’s plan: Responding to the question concerning the anchor borrowers programme. He said:
- “We are gradually moderating our intervention in developmental finance. But that doesn’t mean we are stopping, as some people have told you.”
For the record: The CBN has given a total of N1.01 trillion to over 4.21 million smallholder farmers producing 21 commodities across the country through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).
- After the Real Sector Facility, the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) is the intervention program with the second-highest funding level.
- The total amount paid out to 426 projects nationwide through the Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF) to date is N2.10 trillion.
- As of September 2022, the Apex bank had disbursed N4.5 trillion in intervention money to the Nigerian economy’s private sector.
