The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, revealed that it granted N1.244 billion in loans for the nation’s agricultural sector between May and June 2016.
According to its reports of activities under the agricultural credit guarantee scheme, the apex bank said it gave credit facility of N561.8 million in May and another N683.1 million in June 2016.
While in May, it extended the loan facility to 3,741 businesses across 24 states of the federation as the tally was raised to 4,774 businesses across 28 states in June, with both facilities excluding Cross River, Bauchi, Jigawa, Lagos, Sokoto and Yobe states.
Governor of the apex, Godwin Emefiele, had reiterated the bank’s commitment to supporting agriculture amongst other sectors of the economy.
“We are confronted, as a nation, with a wide range of development challenges especially with the dwindling global crude oil prices and the nation’s dependence on it as its major source of revenue,” he had said at a workshop on agricultural innovation.
He said: “There is need to diversify the mono-cultural tendencies of the economy by developing other sectors of the economy, especially agriculture.”
Emefiele had also approved the appointment of substantive Managing Director and Executive Director (Technical) for the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) in December 2015.
