The Central Bank of Nigeria has disclosed that N503bn representing 52.39 per cent has been repaid by farmers under the Anchor borrowers programme as of February 2023.

This was made known by the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, AbdulMumin Isa, in a statement on Monday. This figure, however, contradicts claims by the International Monetary Fund that only 24 per cent of loans disbursed under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria have been repaid.

The report completed on Jan. 12 noted that although the CBN allows farmers to pay in kind or cash under the ABP, repayments have been very low. The document read, “For the Anchor Borrowing Programme, repayment is also low at 24 per cent, especially since repayment can be made in kind, thereby limiting the tenor of the loans to one year.

“Part of the problem is that the incentive structure for repayment is weak, the recipient loans are not always well targeted and occasionally the funding is used for other purchases (e.g., new agricultural input trading companies to elicit trading rents).”

Disputing the claims, Isa explained that N1.079 trillion has been released under the programme, out of which N960 billion is due for repayment.