The Central Bank of Nigeria hopes to lift agricultural lending above the current level of less than five per cent of banks’ credit, with Governor Olayemi Cardoso declaring that agriculture must receive its “rightful place in our financial system and national priorities.”
Cardoso spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at the inauguration of the newly constituted Board of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund.
He told the audience that the event marked “a defining moment — a bold statement of intent that signals a new dawn for agricultural financing in Nigeria.”
He said agriculture remained the backbone of the economy, contributing more than one-fifth of GDP and employing most Nigerians, yet “it receives only a small fraction of formal credit — less than 5 per cent of banks’ lending goes to the agricultural sector.”
According to him, this chronic underfunding has stifled productivity and expansion for millions of farmers. “It is a reassessment of norms: we will no longer accept business-as-usual,” he said.
“Instead, we embrace a future where agriculture is accorded its rightful place.” Cardoso said the fund, which guarantees up to 75 per cent of the value of agricultural loans, had helped banks lend to farmers for decades, including those considered “unbankable.”
