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APB: CBN warns banks against fund disbursement delay

CAUTION

Apex bank has been receiving complaints on late disbursement of funds by lenders

 

Any bank hat delays the disbursement of funds to farmers under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme risks Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) sanction, the apex bank warned yesterday.

 

This was as the CBN said it would be sharing the losses of farmers under ABP on equal basis should such loses occur within a farming season.

 

CBN Director, Development Finance, Mr. Yusuf Yila, disclosed this during the 2020 dry season stakeholders’ forum in Abuja.

 

The stakeholders meeting involved anchor/processors, commodity associations and participating financial institutions.

 

The forum was aimed at getting all stakeholders to bare their minds as to what challenges they face in driving dry season farming and to also expose CBN 2020 dry season programme.

 

Speaking during the opening ceremony, Yila said the decision to share risks equally with farmers demonstrated CBN’s commitment to drive food sufficiency in Nigeria.

 

He said for this year’s dry season farming, the season would be focusing on rice maize and tomatoes.

 

He said the CBN wanted to improve yields on these crops as the failure of dry season farming could spell catastrophe on food security. The prices of these commodities are already spiking in the markets.

 

He also revealed that the CBN was willing to finance the growing of wheat in Nigeria.

 

Thus, he called on farmers, who are willing to go into wheat farming, to get viable fields and the CBN will finance it.

 

“We are also doing pilot for wheat and the CBN will fund it,” he said, adding that the CBN is willing to support Nigerian farmers to do the 6 million metric tonnes of wheat that the country imports annually.

 

The CBN also urged the banks to improve financing to farmers, adding that sanctions will apply if banks fail to finance agriculture.

 

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