The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and deposit money banks in Nigeria, under the aegis of the bankers’ committee have restated their commitment to expanding bank lending in agro-business in order to discourage importation in the country.
The bankers also stated their resolve to explore large corporate as anchors to lend to participants across the value chain to improve the capacity of Nigeria’s agro-businesses so as to create sustainable jobs and inclusive growth.
This was disclosed in a communiqué at the end of the sixth Bankers’ Committee Annual Retreat that took place in Calabar last weekend, which was signed by the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
The meeting also had in attendance, the deputy CBN governors, chief executive officers of deposit money banks, discount houses and development finance institutions.
Other participants included the Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akin Adesina, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, as well as financial industry experts from within and outside Nigeria.
The theme of the retreat was: “Strategies for Financing Real Sector Growth.”
The bankers’ committee also stated that it would continue to collaborate to provide the necessary finance for transformation of the power sector value chain across generation, distribution, and transmission sub-sectors. “We will explore opportunities for renewable energy and encourage sustainability, efficiency, and operations in line with global best practices in the development of the power sector. We will also maintain our support for funding gas to power projects across the country,” it stated.
According to the statement, this year’s retreat took place at an auspicious time given the events in the global economy.
It noted that the global economy in recent time had been dominated by strong downside risks to growth, in view of softening commodity prices, escalating geo-political tensions, and heightening threats to financial markets following the end of the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing programme in October 2014.
Also, bearish developments in the international oil market have intensified these risks particularly for oil exporting countries like ours.
These developments are exacerbated by the supply glut in the world oil market following the shale oil revolution spearheaded by the United States.
The bankers also affirmed their commitment to financial deepening of the economy, improving financial access to key sectors of the economy, innovative solutions for the critical finance of generation, provide finance for small and medium enterprises, among others.
“We note that four basic commodities that are consumed by Nigerians - rice, wheat, fish and sugar jointly account for a significant amount of the country’s annual import bill.
“We are convinced that the nation has the capacity to produce these consumables in required amounts to meet our domestic consumption needs. With its attendant impact on GDP and job creation, agriculture remains a critical focus sector of the financial system,” it added.
Furthermore, the CBN, in cooperation with the Nigerian banks, affirmed their commitment to maintain and improve impact of existing programmes that support development in the agricultural sector, including the Agricultural Credit Support Scheme (ACSS), the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS), and the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).
