Friday, November 05, 2021   / 4:40 PM / by CBN / Header Image Credit: The Sun Nigeria

1.0 Introduction

Background

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in line with itsdevelopmental functions as enshrined in Section 31 of the CBN Act 2007,established the Anchor Borrowers' Programme (ABP) to create economic linkagesbetween smallholder farmers (SHFs) and reputable companies (anchors) involvedin the production and processing of key agricultural commodities. The core ofthe Programme is to provide loans (in kind and cash) to smallholder farmers toboost agricultural production, create jobs, reduce food import bill towardsconservation of foreign reserve.

The Programme evolved from consultations withstakeholders comprising Federal Ministry of Agriculture & RuralDevelopment, state governments, agro-processors, commodity associations,financial institutions and smallholder farmers to ramp up agriculturalproduction, boost non-oil exports and diversify the revenue base of Nigeria.

The revised Guidelines address current realities anddevelopments in the Anchor Borrowers' Programme, aimed at promoting bestpractice in the implementation of the Programme. The Guidelines recognize thedistinctiveness of smallholder farmers, the ABP transactions dynamics and theProject Management Team (PMT) in the implementation process. It also adoptsmeasures to ensure the protection of smallholder farmers. It defineseligibility criteria 5 Classified as Confidential Classified as Confidentialand responsibilities of relevant stakeholders under the Programme such as theloan limit, interest rate, tenor; agricultural commodities eligible for financingunder the Programme. It outlines the implementation windows and operatingmodels under each window type.

This document is therefore aimed at improving theProgramme's implementation process and enhancing stakeholders' participationfor the realization of the ABP's objective.

Objective

The broad objective of the ABP is to create economiclinkages between smallholder farmers and processors with a view to increasingagricultural output and ensuring food price stability. The specific objectivesinclude:

• Increase banks' financingto improve agricultural productivity by creating an ecosystem that drives valuechain financing;
• Reduce the nation's foodimport bill through import substitution and enhanced domestic value addition;
• Create new generation offarmers through innovative financing to support smart agriculture; and
• Deepen financial inclusionand grow smallholder farmers from subsistence to commercial farming.

The targeted beneficiaries shall be smallholderfarmers and medium to large scale farmers engaged in the production ofagricultural commodities across the country. The smallholder 6 Classified asConfidential Classified as Confidential farmers should be in groups,cooperative(s), associations or under out-grower arrangement.

1.4      Targeted AgriculturalCommodities

• The agricultural commodities covered under theProgramme shall include:
• Cereals (Rice, Maize,wheat etc.)
• Cotton
• Roots and Tubers (Cassava,Potatoes, Yam, Ginger etc.)
• Sugarcane
• Tree crops (Oil palm,Cocoa, Rubber etc.)
• Legumes (Soybean, Sesameseed, Cowpea etc.)
• Tomato
• Livestock (Fish, Poultry,Ruminants etc.)
• Any other commodity thatmay be decided upon by the Bank from time to time.

DownloadFull Guidelines Here

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