The Central Bank of Nigeria has launched a debt recovery campaign in a bid to force beneficiaries of its Anchor Borrowers Programme to repay the loans granted to them.
The apex bank will undertake the campaign in partnership with the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN)
The Anchor Borrowers Programme was launched by Federal Government in 2015 to boost agricultural yields, halt food importation and address the negative trade balance in the country.
Guidelines for the programme stipulate that upon harvest, benefiting farmers are to repay their loans with produce (which must cover the loan principal and interest) to an anchor, who in turn pays the cash equivalent to the farmer’s account.
However, CBN’s latest record showed that farmers owed N463 billion as of March.
The Head of CBN’s Development and Finance Unit in Gombe, who confirmed the initiative to journalists in Gombe, said the apex bank would collaborate with RIFAN to recover the loans in the state.
He said: “Although the CBN’s schemes also helped with the crash of the price of rice and created jobs as well as boosted Nigeria’s local capacity to meet demand, it is important farmers continue to pay their loans, so as to encourage the government to accommodate more farmers in the programme in 2022.
“The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme has made a lot of positive impact on our economy, output and even the national food security system has improved however the loan default could deprive many other farmers.”