The Central Bank of Nigeria’s flagship agricultural financing initiative, the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), has come under heavy criticism from farmers who say the scheme failed to deliver on its promises of supporting smallholder agricultural production.
The National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kabir Kebram, declared that the CBN farmers scheme programme was a poorly designed intervention doomed to fail from the start. Speaking to our correspondent, Kebram revealed that AFAN had deliberately opted out of participating in the programme due to concerns about its long-term viability and poor structure.
“As AFAN, we did not participate in the programme because our initial analysis showed us that the scheme was going to fail. It was not going to work,” Kebram stated.
Launched in 2015 under former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, the ABP aimed to support local food production by linking smallholder farmers to agro-processors and providing them with both in-kind and financial loans. Staple crops like rice, maize, and cotton were prioritized, with over four million farmers reportedly benefiting from the programme.
Despite early gains such as the reported increase in local rice production from 5 million to 8 million metric tonnes and the establishment of nearly 50 large-scale rice mills, Kebram insists that the scheme’s implementation was flawed. He said it lacked proper oversight, was marred by political interference, and failed to achieve real financial inclusion for many rural farmers.
As of 2023, more than N1 trillion had been disbursed through the scheme, but only about 40% of that amount had been recovered. The remaining 60% represented a huge repayment gap, raising questions about accountability and due diligence in loan disbursement.
The ABP was also implicated in the legal troubles of its architect, former CBN governor Godwin Emefiele, who is currently facing charges linked to financial misconduct. “Emefiele was in jail because of this and still has problems because of the money that was used there,” Kebram noted.
Under the new CBN leadership of Governor Yemi Cardoso, the programme and other intervention schemes have been discontinued. Cardoso’s administration has cited widespread misuse, inefficiencies, and a need to return the apex bank to its core monetary policy role.
The original framework of the ABP involved a repayment model where loans were settled via produce, which the Anchor (usually a commodity processor or association) would purchase and remit the equivalent cash value to banks. However, widespread default, diversion of inputs, and the lack of farmer engagement with off-takers derailed the process.
Agricultural experts argue that while the ABP was a step in the right direction, its execution lacked transparency and stakeholder input. They are now calling for a reimagined agricultural finance model that involves cooperatives, agritech platforms, and decentralized funding mechanisms to improve access and monitoring.
Farmers across the country are urging the federal government to learn from the ABP’s failure and create future schemes that prioritize sustainability, transparency, and inclusivity.
“We need financing that truly reaches the grassroots,” Kebram emphasized. “Not something that looks good on paper but fails the people who need it the most.”
As Nigeria continues its journey toward food security and economic diversification, the lessons from the ABP could serve as a critical guide for designing more effective interventions in the agricultural sector.