How To Apply For CBN Anchor Borrowers Fund

All farmers in the nation who engage in large-scale farming are now entitled to apply for a loan under the CBN anchor borrower’s program. This farming approach is intended to address the difficulties smallholder farmers frequently face when farming individually on a small scale. this is for all farmers and cooperatives interested in farming in agricultural production clusters.

The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) was formed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in accordance with its developmental functions as outlined in Section 31 of the CBN Act 2007 to economic connections between reputable businesses that produce and process critical agricultural commodities (anchors) and smallholder farmers (SHFs).

This CBN anchor borrowers program loan application is open for you if you’re a farmer who engages in large-scale farming and requires a loan to increase your agricultural output. The main goal of the program is to give smallholder farmers loans (both in kind and cash) to increase agricultural output, generate employment, and lower the cost of importing food so as to preserve foreign reserves.

The Program was developed as a result of stakeholder consultations, consisting of state governments, agro-processors, commodity groups, financial institutions, and smallholder farmers, in order to increase agricultural productivity, increase non-oil exports, and diversify Nigeria’s source of income.

The revised guidelines, which are intended to encourage best practices in program implementation, address current realities and developments in the anchor borrower program.  The Project Management Team (PMT) and the unique characteristics of smallholder farmers, as well as the dynamics of ABP transactions, are acknowledged in the Guidelines.

Additionally, it establishes policies to guarantee the safety of smallholder farmers. It outlines the requirements for eligibility and the obligations of relevant parties under the Program, including the maximum loan amount, the interest rate, the loan tenor; and the agricultural commodities that are eligible for financing under the Programme. It lists the operating systems and implementation windows for each type of window.

Objectives of ABP loans goals

The ABP’s overarching goal is to forge economic connections between smallholder farmers and processors in order to

• boosting agricultural output and ensuring the stability of food prices.
• Increase bank lending to boost agricultural output by developing a value-driven ecosystem
• reduce the cost of the nation’s food imports through increased domestic value addition and import substitution;
• boast a new generation of farmers by supporting intelligent agriculture with creative finance
• Grow small-scale producers from family to commercial farming, and broaden financial inclusion.

Loan cap for CBN Anchor Borrower’s Program

Each qualifying farmer’s maximum loan amount under the Program would be determined using CBN-ratified economics of Production (EOP), size, and validation. This means that your eligibility and qualification for the loan you intend to receive will determine the loan limit.

• Inflation Rate: The Program will be run in accordance with the public interest. The reimbursement rate for intervention funds as set forth from time to time by the CBN

• Duration: The duration of loans made under the Programme will depend on how long the targeted commodity will take to mature.

• Repayment: Repayment must follow CBN guidelines and be made in cash and produce. The Program requires that all loans be fully repaid within the facility’s tenure. The leadership of the Association shall be liable for full repayment of facilities granted to its members if the facility was accessed through a Commodity Association.

Collateral Conditions

The program’s collateral requirements must be as follows

• Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) for State Governments.
• Cooperatives and/or commodity associations

Methods for Entering ABP Facility

The steps to access the ABP facility are as follows:

• Anchor’s Expression of Interest to PFI; a PFI expression of interest submitted to the CBN on behalf of Anchor, the state government, and the commodity association cooperative that lists the desired agricultural commodities
• The PFI will enter information about the farm and the farmers into the CBN system; When stakeholders are informed, PMT starts working by presiding over the first meeting to evaluate the checklist and decide on verification
• To decide on the Economics of Production (EoP), offtake pricing, and other pertinent matters, the PMT must organize Town Hall Meetings. The tripartite agreement between PFI, Anchor, and Farmers’ Representative must be signed
• When the PFI sends a verified list of farmers, the service providers will start mapping agricultural areas.

Finally

The ABP’s main focus is on providing smallholder farmers with farm inputs in kind and cash (in exchange for labor on the farm) in order to increase the output of these goods, stabilize the input supply to agro-processors, and address the nation’s negative food balance of payments.