BY CHINYERE OBIORA – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says over 31,666 loans worth N5.92 billion were guaranteed to beneficiaries under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) in 2021.
This is as the Scheme’s beneficiaries have cited the rising prices of goods and services in pleading with the apex bank to consider increasing the maximum loans limit guaranteed per farmer.
Acting Branch Controller, Nnaemeka Ukanyirioha, who spoke at the ACGSF Farmers Awards ceremony held at the CBN office in Lagos, said the apex bank has not relented in facilitating access to finance for operators in the agricultural sector despite the challenging economic situation in the country.
According to him, CBN has weathered the economic storms by ensuring that as at year 2021 ending “a total of 31,666 loans valued at N5.92 billion” were approved and utilised under the ACGSF.
Ukanyirioha said the award aims at appreciating and rewarding participants under the scheme “who have shown exceptional promise and dedication to growing our agricultural sector despite the numerous challenges faced.”
“The previous year was particularly difficult with businesses trying to recover from the after effects of a global pandemic”, he noted, adding; “This further underscored the importance of a nation’s ability to feed itself.”
Assuring that the CBN remains fully committed to support the Federal Government’s efforts at food sufficiency in the country, Ukanyirioha said; “It is evidence that our commitment in rebuilding our agricultural might as a nation is crucial not only for our subsistence but also our economic relevance on a global scale.”
However, in their interventions at the occasion, some beneficiaries urged the apex bank to consider upping the ante by lifting the maximum loans limit guaranteed per farmer given the rising prices of goods and services in the country.
The Fund, which was established in 1977 with the aim of increasing the level of bank credit to the nation’s agric sector, guarantees loans granted by any bank in pursuit of agricultural activities across the country.
