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CBN extends Agric Credit Scheme to 2025

By on May 24, 2014

As part of efforts to further enhance credit supply to the agricultural sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the extension of the terminal date of the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) from September 30, 2016 to September 30, 2025.

This policy became effective from May 14, 2014.

The regulator stated this in a document titled: “Revised Strategy for the Implementation of the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS),” obtained on its website.

As part of its developmental role, the central bank in collaboration with the
Federal Ministry of Agriculture had established the CACS for promoting commercial agricultural enterprises in Nigeria.

The CACS is a sub–component of the federal government’s Commercial Agriculture Development Programme (CADP).

This fund complements other special initiatives of the central bank in providing concessionary funding for agriculture such as the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) which is mostly for small scale farmers, Interest Draw-back scheme, Agricultural Credit Support Scheme, among others.

The scheme is being financed from the proceeds of the N200 billion three-year bond raised by the Debt Management Office (DMO). The fund is always made available to the participating banks to finance commercial agricultural enterprises.

In addition, each state government can borrow up to N1 billion for on-lending to farmers’ cooperative societies and other areas of agricultural development provided such initiatives/interventions are in line with the objectives of CACS.

“The scheme shall be under the management of the CBN through the board of directors and the committee of governors.

“The committee of governors shall be responsible for the overall administration of the scheme while the day-to-day implementation of the scheme shall lie with the Development Finance Department.

“The Development Finance Department shall report to the committee of governors on all CACS issues,” it added.

The key agricultural commodities to be covered under the scheme are cotton, oil palm, fruit trees, rice, wheat, cassava and maize/soya.

Some others include beans, millet, tomatoes, vegetables, poultry, eggs production, meat, dairy and piggery.

The scheme regards a commercial enterprise as any farm or agro-based enterprise with agricultural asset (excluding land) of not less than N100 million for an integrated farm with prospects of growing the assets to N250 million within the next three years and N50 million for non-integrated farms/agro-enterprise with prospects of growing the assets to N150 million, except in the case of on-lending to farmers’ cooperative societies.

 

 

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