Business
Expend CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme – Expert
A business analyst, Akinyinka Akintunde, has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to involve more farmers in its Anchor Borrowers Programme toward boosting food production in the country.
Akintunde, who is the Business Development Manager, AFEX Commodities Exchange Ltd, made the call in an interview with newsmen yesterday in Lagos.
He said this while reacting to the May Inflation report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which grew to 11.40 per cent from the 11.37 per cent recorded in April.
The growth was due largely to corresponding increase in the composite food index, which rose by 13.79 per cent in May, compared to 13.70 per cent in April and 13.45 per cent in March.
According to NBS, the rise in the food index was caused by increases in the prices of meat, oils and fats, bread/cereals, potatoes, yam, fish, milk, cheese, egg and vegetables.
Inflation is a quantitative measurement of the rate at which the average price level of a basket of selected goods and services in an economy increases over a period of time.
Akintunde noted that having more farmers in the Anchor Borrowers Programme was imperative considering the increasing population of the country.
He said increased access of smallholder farmers to funding and quality inputs would reduce the rising food inflation rate and invariably the cost of food prices across the country.
“It cuts to the fundamentals of food production in Nigeria. Agriculture accounts for about 25 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but less than five per cent funding from the banks.
“Invariably the high cost of lending from commercial banks will definitely impact on the cost of production.
“Also, a lot of farmers lack access to inputs at an affordable rate. If we have more farmers in the CBN’s programme, it would address some of these issues,” he said.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
