Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has disbursed N1.487 trillion under its various agricultural programmes to boost food security.
Governor of the bank, Godwin Emefiele, made this known while presenting the communiqué on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja during the week.
Mr Godwin Emefiele said the bank had disbursed N107.60 billion to 548,109 farmers cultivating 703,619 hectares of land between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of this year to boost dry season output.
He explained that out of the N1.487 trillion expended under the various agricultural programmes, N686.59 billion was disbursed under the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) while N601.75 billion was spent under the Anchor Borrowers Programmes (ABP) to 3,038,649 farmers to support food supply and dampen inflationary pressures.
Under the Targeted Credit Facility, the bank has disbursed N218.16 billion to 475,376 beneficiaries, of which 34 per cent of beneficiaries are SMEs.