Monday, September 8, 2025
25.4 C
Lagos

CBN: Anchor Borrowers’ Programme Loan Repayment Tops 52.39% in Feb 2023

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it remains committed to its developmental mandate of stimulating access to finance for the real sector, disclosing that total repayments as of the end of February 2023 under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) stood at N0.503 trillion, representing 52.39 per cent, adding that the balance of N0.119 trillion was not due for repayment.

The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Dr. AbdulMumin Isa, disclosed this in Abuja over the weekend while exchanging views with journalists on the performance of the ABP, revealing that the Bank had released the sum of N1.079 trillion, as of February 28, 2023, of which N0.960 trillion was due for repayment.

According to him, the CBN ABP had supported about 4.57 million smallholder farmers at end-February, 2023, who cultivated over 6.02 million hectares of 21 commodities across the country. He listed 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.

Citing statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA), Dr. Isa noted that 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. He said the programme had also helped to improve the national average yield per hectare of these commodities, with productivity per hectare almost doubling within the eight years of the Programme’s implementation.

While further noting that repayments under the ABP are made through cash or produce by the beneficiaries, the Acting Spokesperson of the CBN stressed that the outstanding due balance on loans was still under moratorium due to the COVID-19 forbearance granted to beneficiaries of the Bank’s interventions in March 2020 and extended to February 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 explained.

Dr. Isa emphasised that the Bank’s interventions, with the core objective of catalysing the economy’s productive base, have continued to support investments in capital assets in sectors with high-growth and employment-elastic potential.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria 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 Central Bank of Nigeria continues to welcome applications from eligible Nigerian farmers and firms under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme,” he added.

spot_img
spot_img

Hot this week

Nigeria, Brazil Central Banks Deepen Economic, Financial Co-operation

Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has held talks...

Ecobank Nigeria to Host Second Edition of Design & Build, Showcasing Premier Innovators in Design, Construction

Ecobank Nigeria, a subsidiary of the leading pan-African banking...

Expert: Fintech, Financial Inclusion Critical for Sustainable Growth of Nigerian Economy

A renowned economist, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, the Chief Consultant/CEO,...

Sterling Bank Marks One Year of Africa’s Groundbreaking Core Banking System

Number one Best Workplace in Banking in Nigeria and...

Topics

Galvanising African Agriculture via Farm Mechanisation

Massey Ferguson, a worldwide brand of AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) is...

Africa, Middle East Tablet Market Shrinks 13.3% in Qtr2

Sluggish demand from consumers across much of the Middle...

Sovereign Trust Insurance Takes Career Counselling to Igbobi College

L-R Oritselaju Ejuomah, Adeleye Abolade, Folusho Opeodu, Chioma Obiedo, Abigael...

Accugas Announces Award of University Scholarships to 50 Students from Akwa Ibom State

L-R: Idorenyin Jacob, winner of the Grand Mentor Award...

Global Airlines Financial Monitor [March 2O16]

Key Points: · Global airline share prices continued their recovery...

Nigeria Airways: Murdered in Cold Blood 12 Years Ago by Government

This is the story of a national titan, who offered service to the nation for over 40 years. In these years, in keeping with the social responsibility philosophy of its establishment, “WT” (Whisky Tango), as it was fondly recognised in the global aviation circle, flew daily sorties in addition to scheduled operations to advance the aspirations of a new nation. Between 1960 – 1975, Nigeria Airways announced, publicised and projected the image of a new independent black African nation. From Europe to America, from Africa to Middle/Near East, the Nigerian flag flew on WT. It not only brought pride to the nation and its people, but also raised their profile globally at a time when very few nations of the world were in the global air space.

TRUMP: 7 Telecom Action Plans

Last Friday, Donald Trump was sworn in as the...

Stanbic IBTC Bank to Host Maiden Edition of Home Ownership Summit

Stanbic IBTC Bank, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings,...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img