CBN amends Anchor Borrowers Programme guidelines, threatens farmers with sanctions

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released the revised guidelines for its Anchors Borrowers Programme and warned farmers of several sanctions for default.

The guidelines which were obtained by Ripples Nigeria from the CBN website on Saturday were prepared by the apex bank’s Development Finance Department.

The document reminded farmers that the funds are not free but loans expected to be fully repaid within the tenor of the facility.

It read: “Repayment shall be by produce and/or cash as may be prescribed by the CBN. The loans granted under the programme shall be fully repaid within the tenor of the facility.

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“Where the facility was accessed through a Commodity Association, the leadership of the Association shall be responsible for full repayment of facility granted to its members.

“The maximum loan limit for each eligible farmer under the programme shall be decided based on CBN ratified Economics of Production (EOP) and validated land size. Repayment shall be by produce and/or cash as may be prescribed by the CBN.”

The document also listed penalties for infractions including side-selling, input diversion, and refusal to deliver produce by Smallholder Farmer (SHF), participating financial institutions and anchors.

These include blacklisting of farmers in the programme from all CBN interventions, prosecution by anchors/associations and payment of the loan by the guarantors/cooperatives/commodity associations.

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