The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced a renewed initiative to increase agricultural lending above the current level of less than five per cent of banks’ total credit. Governor Olayemi Cardoso stressed that agriculture must reclaim its central role in national economic planning. Speaking in Abuja during the inauguration of the reconstituted Board of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund, Cardoso described the initiative as a pivotal step in strengthening agricultural financing. He noted that although agriculture contributes over 20 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP, it still attracts an inadequately small share of bank credit.
He explained that insufficient access to finance continues to limit productivity and expansion for millions of farmers, insisting that Nigeria must move beyond “business-as-usual” and embrace a future where agriculture is strongly prioritised. Cardoso highlighted that the fund, which guarantees up to 75 per cent of agricultural loans, has long helped banks lend to farmers deemed too risky. He added that the scheme has become more inclusive since the 2019 amendment, which raised its share capital from N3bn to N50bn and broadened its mandate to include farmer representatives on the board.
Cardoso emphasised that the CBN’s renewed commitment aligns with the Federal Government’s goal of building a resilient, technology-driven agricultural sector capable of promoting food security, reducing poverty, and boosting national wealth. He underscored the need to better support smallholder farmers—who constitute 80 per cent of Nigeria’s farming population and produce nearly 90 per cent of the nation’s food—many of whom still struggle with a lack of collateral and limited credit history.
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The board’s chairman, Olusegun Oshin, stated that the scheme must direct greater resources toward grassroots farmers who are consistently excluded from credit systems and lack basic storage facilities. He pointed out that despite sustaining the country’s food supply, many smallholders operate in distant rural areas with minimal access to financing or infrastructure needed to preserve their produce.
Stakeholders present at the inauguration remarked that increasing agricultural lending and scaling up the credit guarantee scheme could unlock new opportunities for MSMEs within the agricultural value chain, improve food production, and enhance rural prosperity across Nigeria.
