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CBN: NIRSAL guarantees 224 projects for farmers worth N53bn in two years

By on June 10, 2015

The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Tuesday said it had guaranteed 224 projects worth N53 billion with commercial banks for farmers in the country in the last two and half years.

The Head, NIRSAL Project Implementation Office and Development Finance Department, Mr. Aliyu Hameed, made the disclosure at a zonal sensitisation workshop on the financing framework for agricultural value chain held in Sokoto.

He said the huge amount was guaranteed to borrowers in different agricultural segments of the value chain, especially those engaged in poultry farming.

“Most of the guarantee amounting to N53 billion went to the processing segment of the value chain but I can tell you that the poultry segment got most of the money and support from NIRSAL in the last two and half years,” he said.

He disclosed that NIRSAL had been able to give interest-drawback support to farmers worth N698 million in the last two and half years.
Hameed stated that the aim of the initiative was to boost food security and reducing import bill in the country.

He admitted that financing for agriculture was a very big challenge to all stakeholders, hence the move by the CBN to see how it could make commercial banks finance agriculture in Nigeria

 

[ThisDay]