Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), has inaugurated a board for the Agricultural Credit Guarantee SchemeFund (ACGSF) in Abuja.Speaking at the inauguration on Tuesday, Cardoso said theinauguration signals “a new dawn” for agricultural financing in the country,describing the ACGSF as one of Nigeria’s oldest development finance programmesand a critical tool for transforming the sector.He also said the agricultural sector must no longer receive“business-as-usual” financing if Nigeria is to achieve food security andsustainable economic growth. “Agriculture contributes over one-fifth of our GDP andemploys nearly two-thirds of our working population, yet it receives less thanfive percent of banks’ lending,” Cardoso said. “This longstanding financing gap has constrained thepotential of millions of Nigerian farmers. “The inauguration of this Board, therefore, comes at anopportune time as we embark on a bold new chapter in agricultural finance. Itis a reassertion that we will no longer accept business-as-usual; instead.” The CBN governor noted that since its creation in 1977, theACGSF has encouraged banks to lend to farmers by guaranteeing up to 75 percentof agricultural loans. However, he said the current realities including climaterisks, insecurity, extended value chains, and the rise of agritech require thescheme to evolve. Cardoso said the strengthened ACGSF, whose share capital wasexpanded from N3 billion to N50 billion under the amended 2019 Act, must movefrom simply guaranteeing loans to actively driving affordable credit tofarmers, cooperatives, and agribusinesses. ‘TARGET WOMEN, YOUTH, UNDERSERVED FARMERS’ The CBN governor urged the new board to prioritise financialinclusion, particularly for smallholder farmers, women, and young people whoface the highest barriers to credit. “Nearly 60 percent of rural women do not use mobileinternet, limiting their access to emerging digital services,” he said. Cardoso further called for partnerships with microfinancebanks, cooperatives, and fintechs to design suitable products. He said innovations such as group lending, agent banking anddigital credit systems should be deployed to ensure that lack of collateral orlocation “is no longer an insurmountable barrier” to obtaining financing. ‘USE DATA, SATELLITE IMAGERY TO TRACK LOANS’ Proposing solutions to delayed loan repayment, the CBNgovernor called for stronger oversight of guaranteed loans through real-timemonitoring tools such as satellite imagery, digital dashboards and data-drivenevaluations. “Every naira guaranteed must deliver real value on the farmand in the marketplace,” Cardoso said. He added that rigorous monitoring will help track the impactof loans on productivity and farm incomes, while identifying risks such asrising defaults in specific regions. Cardoso said the government’s “Renewed Hope” agenda placesagriculture at the centre of Nigeria’s growth and poverty reduction strategy,noting that smallholder farmers who account for 80 percent of producers, remainthe backbone of food production. He urged the newly inaugurated board to help reposition theACGSF as the “cornerstone” of the country’s agricultural transformation. “With today’s inauguration, we have renewed our commitmentto a prosperous, food-secure Nigeria,” he said. “The task ahead may appear daunting, but our determinationto succeed is stronger.” Cardoso pledged the full support of the CBN to ensure theboard delivers on its mandate.
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