ABSTRACT
The main point of this study is the role of “Central bank of Nigeria in credit supply to agricultural sector”.
The project is intended to focus on the adequate of credit supply to Agricultural sector by the central bank of Nigeria’s guarantees scheme has contributed to agricultural financing and the extent the Nigeria Agricultural and co-operative bank has contributed to agricultural project financing.
The related literature, which, consists of the view of their authors, were reviewed, as it is seen in the second chapter of this project.
The source of data is only on secondary sources. It will consist of the use of newspapers, journals, magazines and seminar papers.
After all the information gathered in this project, it was discovered at the end that.
* The central bank policy guidelines on agriculture are adequate.
* The sectoral allocation has influenced significantly agricultural financing.
* The agricultural credit guarantee scheme has contributed significantly towards agricultural programme financing.
The recommendation made include that the government should encourage agricultural research by provision of more funds, the financial institutions should be more liberal in their credit policies and farmers on their sides should make efficient use of the funds provided to them and should stop credit diversion.
INTRODUCTION
1.1BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Agriculture, man’s oldest profession that use to be Nigeria’s chief foreign exchange earner, has been neglected over the years because of the discovery of oil. This factor has led to the disappearance of most mineral resources in the country like the groundnut pyramid of the North, the cocoa sacks of the west and the palm oil drums of the east. Not only the hard currency accruing from agricultural export gone but the population which continued to grow without a corresponding increase in agricultural production has outstripped he available food supply, hence the need for an urgent.
Experts hold that over 90 percent of the rural populace are engaged in farming but these people have little or no access to credit facilities because they lack the requisite collateral to back up such loans. As it should be farmers need money to meet various outlays for seasonal agricultural production for development of land, under standing such allied activities and also to tide over liquidity shortage during the time intervening the sowing and harvesting of crops.
They need short-term, medium and long-term financing for meeting of production and post harvest expenses as well as processing and marketing of crops. This is why this central bank of Nigeria has gone beyond its role as the apex financial institution is the country to harness its regulatory and participating function in the area of agriculture in a variety of ways, some of which are its previously terminated association with the commodity boards, the initiation and management of the Agricultural credit guarantee scheme (ACGS),parts ownership of a specialist agricultural credit institution, initiation if rural banking program, the setting out of a target proportion of commercial and merchant banks loans that will go to agricultural every year. It also made prescription of concessionary rate o the nation agricultural credit study.
The central bank of Nigeria has adopted the policies in recognition of the importance of the agricultural sector in the nation’s economy and promotional role which the bank is expected to play in its development.
