AGRICULTURE
- The Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria, launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2015, has made available more than 200 billion Naira in funding to more than 1.5 million smallholder farmers of 16 different commodities (Rice, Wheat, Maize, Cotton, Cassava, Poultry, Soy Beans, Groundnut, Fish), cultivating over 1.4 million hectares of farmland.
- The ABP has substantially raised local production of rice, doubling the production of paddy as well as milled rice between 2015 and 2019.
- Between 2016 and 2019, more than 10 new rice mills came on-stream in Nigeria. Many of the existing Mills have expanded their capacity; several new ones are under construction.
- More than a billion dollars of private sector investments in the production of Rice, Wheat, Sugar, Poultry, Animal Feed, Fertilizers, etc, since 2015.
- Federal Executive Council approval (2020) for a National Agriculture Mechanization Programme, “the Green Imperative”, in partnership with the Government of Brazil and multilateral financing institutions.
The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative:
- Launched in January 2017, as a Government-to-Government agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco
- More than a million metric tonnes of fertilizer produced since 2017. This translated to distribution of more than 18 million 50kg bags of NPK fertilizer in the first three years of the PFI)
- 22 blending plants resuscitated (combined installed capacity of more than 2.5m MT)
- Price reduction from 9,000-11,000 per bag, to 5,500
- FX savings of $150m annually through the substitution of imported components with locally manufactured ones
- Subsidy savings of 50 billion Naira annually
MAKING BUSINESS WORK
Support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
The Administration has launched a series of funding and capacity development initiatives designed to support MSMEs:
- The new Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has finally taken off, with initial funding of US$1.3 billion (N396.5 billion); to provide medium and long-term loans to MSMEs.
- Since 2017, the DBN has disbursed a total of N100 billion through the bank’s 27 Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) impacting more than 100,000 MSMEs.
- 52% of loans disbursed in 2019 were to youths and women owned businesses.
- Bank of Industry has disbursed more than N400 billion in loans to large, medium, small and micro enterprises since 2016.
- It has also established a N5 Billion Fund for Artisanal Miners, as part of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Solid
- Minerals Development’s Programme to boost Mining activities in Nigeria; as well as a $20 million Fund to support young technology entrepreneurs in Nigeria
- The MSME Clinics, which bring relevant Government Agencies together with small businesses operating in various cities across the country, to enable the Agencies provide direct support to these businesses. The interactions allow the Agencies better understand the issues facing small businesses, and provide a platform for speedy resolution.
- The Ease of Doing Business Reform Programme (see below)
The Government Enterprise and Empowerment component (GEEP) of the Social Intervention Programme (SIP)