The Central Bank of Nigeria has in the last one year injected a total of N388.22million into the Agriculture Credit Guarantee to 2,125 farmers.
According to the monthly economic report which was recently released by the apex bank, the amount represented a decrease of 0.5 per cent and 5.3 per cent below the levels in the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2018. Sub-sectoral analysis showed that food crops obtained the largest share of N182.55 million guaranteed to 1,127 beneficiaries, followed by livestock sub-sector.
On the other hand, N84.36 million was guaranteed to 351 beneficiaries; and cash crops, N36.07 million guaranteed to 177 beneficiaries. Fisheries, mixed crops, and ‘Others’ obtained N34.39 million, N31.91 million and N18.95 million guaranteed to 103, 279 and 88 beneficiaries, respectively.
Analysis by state showed that 28 states, including the Federal Capital Territory benefited from the Scheme in November 2019, with the highest and lowest sums of N67.49 million and N1.24 million guaranteed to states respectively.
In addition, the implementation of the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme continued with the disbursement of N1.07 billion to three projects. The total sum released to the economy, under the Scheme from inception in 2009 to date, stood at N611.50 billion, in respect of 596 projects.
In November 2019, 62 projects repaid the sum of N8.15 billion, of which payment by fifty-nine projects were steady repayments, while three projects were full repayments. The repayments brought the cumulative repayment under CACS from inception in 2009 to N384.41 billion.
Analysis of the number of projects financed under the CACS by value chain indicated, that of the 596 CACS sponsored projects, production accounted for 61.6 per cent and dominated the activities funded, while processing accounted for 27.7 per cent. These were followed by storage, input supplies and marketing, which accounted for 4.7 per cent, 3.3 percent and 2.7 per cent.
The CBN also said that currency in circulation increased by N240 billion between November and December 2019. The report stated that at the end of the 2019 financial period, about N2.44 trillion was in circulation, rising from N2.2 trillion at the end of November. In October, about N2.05 trillion was in circulation.
According to the Apex bank, “Currency-in-circulation at end-November 2019 rose by 9.9 percent to N2.2trillion, in contrast to the decline of 0.4 percent at the end of third quarter 2019. The development, relative to the level in the preceding quarter, reflected, mainly, the increase in its currency outside banks component, and seasonal factors.”
Meanwhile, an increase of 3.6 per cent was recorded at the end of third quarter 2019 after total deposits at the CBN amounted to N14.35 trillion. This was attributed to 14.3percent and 3.1percent increase in the deposits of the Federal Government and the commercial banks, respectively.
Also, in the fourth quarter of 2019, the apex bank said it maintained the monetary policy rate at 13.50 per cent, while broad money supply on a quarter-on-quarter basis, grew by 4.1 per cent to N36.47 trillion at end-November 2019, compared with 0.4percent and 8.1percent increase at the end of third quarter 2019 and fourth quarter of 2018, respectively.
The Point learnt that the development reflected wholly on the 2.0 per cent increase in net foreign assets which more than offset the 1.2 and 10.6 per cent decline in net domestic credit and other assets of the banking system, respectively.
Broad money supply grew by 9.3 per cent at end-November 2019 over the level at end-December 2018, compared with the growth of 5.1 and 16.4 per cent at end of third quarter 2019 and fourth quarter of 2018, respectively.
CBN disclosed that the growth in broad money reflected the 28.8 per cent increase in domestic credit, which more than offset the 22.8 per cent and 4.9 per cent decline in net foreign assets and other assets of the banking system.
