The National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Kabir Kebram, has described the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme as a failed intervention.

Kebram stated that AFAN distanced itself from the programme from the beginning, having assessed its structure and deemed it unsustainable.

“As AFAN, we did not participate in the programme because our initial analysis showed us that the scheme was going to fail. It was not going to work,” he said.

Launched in 2015 by the Central Bank of Nigeria under former Governor Godwin Emefiele, the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme aimed to provide smallholder farmers with credit and inputs to boost local production—particularly of staple crops like rice, maize, and cotton. It was a key component of Nigeria’s drive toward agricultural self-sufficiency.

Over the years, the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) recorded some notable gains. According to Central Bank data, over four million farmers benefited across 21 agricultural commodities. Rice production reportedly rose from five million to eight million metric tonnes in six years, with rice importation dropping by nearly 50 per cent. The number of mega rice mills also grew to around 50.

However, AFAN President maintained that many farmers were left out of the scheme. He argued that despite the reported successes, the programme’s structural flaws and lack of proper oversight ultimately undermined its long-term effectiveness.

Despite these gains, Kebram argued that the structural weaknesses and lack of proper oversight rendered the programme ineffective in the long term.

“I have said it time and again that the CBN is not continuing with this. There is no development finance because of the money that was used there. They have disbanded it,” he stated.

Kebram also pointed to the legal troubles facing former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, linking them directly to the mismanagement of funds under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.

“Emefiele was in jail because of this and still has problems because of the money that was used there,” he added.

The ABP faced significant challenges over the years, including fund diversion, input misallocation, and high-level political interference. By 2023, around ₦1 trillion had been disbursed, but only about 40 per cent of the loans were recovered, leaving a substantial repayment gap.

With a default rate nearing 60 per cent, the programme ultimately fell short of its core objective—to establish a sustainable and accountable funding system for Nigerian farmers.

Former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele had defended the initiative as a strategic shift from conventional monetary policy, aimed at spurring growth in key sectors like agriculture, creating jobs, boosting local production, and conserving foreign exchange.

The ABP was designed to connect smallholder farmers with larger buyers or processors and channel bank credit directly into agriculture. Its stated goals included building an ecosystem that links producers to markets, increasing commercial bank lending to the sector, enhancing capacity utilization in agribusiness, improving farmers’ productivity and incomes, and ultimately reducing rural poverty.

According to the ABP guidelines, benefiting farmers are required to repay their loans with produce after harvest—covering both the principal and interest. This produce is delivered to an anchor, who then pays the cash equivalent into the farmer’s account.

The scheme offers both in-kind and cash loans for inputs such as seeds and fertilizer through participating banks. Smallholder farmers are organized into groups under an anchor—usually a large processor, commodity association, or state-led initiative—which guarantees an off-take market for their harvests.