The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday disclosed that disbursements to farmers and beneficiaries in the agricultural value chain under the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) this year stood at N12.65 billion.
The apex bank governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, made this disclosure when briefing journalists of the decisions taken during the 290th Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC’s) meeting held in Abuja.
Emefiele, who put the disbursements under the bank’s flagship agriculture intervention scheme since inception in 2015 at N1.09 trillion, also spoke on key interventions by the CBN in other sectors in furtherance of its mandate to provide financial support for the nation’s economic growth.
He explained: “Between January and February 2023, the bank disbursed N12.65 billion to three agricultural projects under the ABP.
“It brings the cumulative disbursement under the programme to N1.09 trillion to more than 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating or rearing 21 agricultural commodities on an approved 6.02 million hectares of farmland.
“The CBN also released the sum of N23.70 billion under the N1.0 trillion Real Sector Facility to eight new real sector projects in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.
“Cumulative disbursements under the Real Sector Facility currently stands at N2.43 trillion disbursed to 462 projects across the country, comprising 257 manufacturing, 95 agriculture, 97 services and 13 mining sector projects”, Emefiele added.
According to him, the apex bank also released N3.01 billion under the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF-2) for capital and operational expenditure of electricity distribution companies (DisCos).
He explained further that the support for the DisCos was aimed at improving liquidity status of the Discos, and aiding their recovery of legacy debt, adding that so far disbursement under the facility totaled N254.39 billion.
