The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has disclosed that only 24 per cent of loans disbursed under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria have been repaid.
This was disclosed in the IMF’s Selected Issues paper on Nigeria, published in January, prepared by a staff team of the fund as background documentation for regular consultation with the country.
According to the IMF, the agricultural credit scheme in the country is yet to significantly boost production though there is the challenge of targeting the correct recipients for the credit.
“For the Anchor Borrowing Programme, ABP repayment is also low at 24 per cent, especially since refund can be made in kind, thereby limiting the tenor of the loans to twelve months”, the document read in part.
“Part of the problem is that the template for repayment could be more encouraging, and the recipient loans are not always well targeted. Also, occasionally the loan is used for other purchases and recurrent costs (e.g., new agricultural input trading companies to elicit trading rents),” it added.
Anchor Borrowers Programme, established in 2016, a scheme by Nigeria’s apex bank, initially set aside N40 billion to support farmers by offering single-digit interest rate loans.
