The Central Bank of Nigeria,says it has disbursed N975.61bn to farmers in Nigeria under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
The money was disbursed to over 4.52 million smallholder farmers as of February 2022,the apex bank said in a document
The CBN said, “The committee reviewed the performance of the bank’s various interventions to stimulate productivity in manufacturing, industry, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, healthcare, and micro, small and medium enterprises.
“Between January and February 2022, the bank disbursed N29.67bn under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme for the procurement of inputs and cultivation of maize, rice, and wheat, three crops that hitherto were significant concerns of foreign exchange demand.
“These disbursements bring the total under the programme to over 4.52 million smallholder farmers, cultivating21 commodities across the country, comes to a total of N975.61bn.”
The CBN had assigned the duty of providing insurance cover and assessing risk of farmers under its Anchor Borrowers’ Programme to underwriting firms.
The Development Finance Department of the CBN disclosed this in its revised Anchor Borrowers’ Programme Guidelines for September 2021.
The guidelines said the underwriters should “provide insurance cover for the projects; ensure timely processing and settlement of claims; provide technical assistance to farmers on insurance policies; and monitor projects for early warning signals or red flags”.
