Feed Nigeria Summit: More than N800bn Given to Farmers Through Anchor Borrowers Programme ABP – FG

Federal government has said not less than N800 billion has been given to farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the central bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made this known at the Feed Nigeria Summit in Abuja on Monday, stating that the money was disbursed to four million farmers covering smallholder farmers (SHFs) cultivating a variety of commodities on over five million hectares of farm land.

Osinbajo, who was represented by the minister of agriculture and rural development, Mohammad Abubakar, said that increasing agricultural productivity is key to ensuring an abundant supply of affordable food in the country.

The ABP scheme which was launched in 2015, was designed to provide farmers with the critical funds and inputs needed to increase local production.

Osinbajo, further said that the production of 50kg bags of fertilizers through the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative has increased to over 60 million bags since its inception in 2016.

He said, “ It is clear that the challenges confronting us are multidimensional. We have prioritized the growth and development of agriculture because we understand the prominence of food security in National development.

“ In 2015 we launched the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme through the Central Bank of Nigeria where 800 billion has been disbursed to more than 4 million farmers cultivating a variety of commodities over millions of hectares of farmland. We realized that we cannot do it alone and we need some technical assistance, that is why in 2016 we launched the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative; a Government-to-Government partnership with the Moroccan Government to increase the production of fertilizers,” He said.

The Director-General (DG), Feed Nigeria Summit Secretariat, Richard Mbaram, said the programme was organized to galvanize stakeholders in the agricultural sector to chart the way forward for the industry.

Mbaram stated that the stakeholders at the summit would come up with suitable measures to address the challenges of proper food storage to reduce the about 50 per cent postharvest losses being recorded in Nigeria, among other recommendations.

“As a country, we are facing challenges around food security, and agro Nigeria has an entity that has been convening the Feed Nigeria Summit. In fact, they need to have this summit at this time before the year closes to ensure that we bring stakeholders together to discuss the issues that affect food security in Nigeria and take it to another level where we can leverage the headwinds to soar, upturning the downturn that is affecting the world.”

The DG identified a particular attraction of the Summit to be the Deal Room framework of which the USAID Feed The Future Agribusiness Development Program is the key technical partner.

According to him, the Deal Room is calibrated to provide sectoral financing support – whether it be blended, equity, mezzanine or conventional. Also, assuring that critical appendage de-risking products like insurance are contemplated.

The Feed Nigeria Summit Deal Room under the directing mind of its Chief Advisor, Dr. Debisi Araba will flaunt a hybrid structure and will also have key partners like the African Development Bank (AfDB), International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), and the United Kingdom Department for International Trade (DIT) featuring prominently.

Mbaram stated that this year’s Summit, coming at the cusp of a new governmental dispensation, will seek to provide policy insights that will guide the political class.

In all, the DG pointed out that the Summit will galvanize sectoral stakeholders’ capacity to engage government regarding the need for policies to be conceptualized, implemented and appraised in line with the feelers coming from the private sector. This is because, according to him, the private sector’s perspective should inform policy, given their disproportionate risk exposure.

He further appreciated the African Development Bank group (AFDB), the UK Government and other partners for their concern for the development and well-being of Nigerians.

UK High Commissioner to Nigeria, Lady Catriona Lang Represented by Africa Agric Director, UK-DIT David Burton, said Department for International Trade intentions has always been to increase trade and investment with the world, while restarting the UK government Commitment to leading the International Market access opportunities for emerging markets across Africa.

He said, “ Through facilitating partnerships between UK and African companies and with our unrivaled Agric-Tech & Financing Capabilities, we believe that this can help to scale up development faster & foster sustainable agricultural practices in Africa.

“ For those across Africa willing to break into the UK and other global markets, the UK has a wealth of expertise that can deliver solutions across the Agricultural lifecycle, from initial scoping studies to feasibility and design to execution, operation & equipment development. We can anticipate that many African farmers and agro investors will be seeking solutions to increase their operational capacity, yields per hectare, export potential & to reduce their overall post-harvest losses. Nigeria’s partner of choice should be the UK.

“ We have much to offer in terms of knowledge, experience, equipment, finance, technology and service expertise. From water-use technology including irrigation and water use decision tools to agricultural Machinery to Post-harvest technology to Livestock Genetics to Cool chain and cold chain technology to seed Production, we stand ready to partner. Please do reach out to the team at the UK Government Department for International Trade DIT.” He said.