ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, officially inaugurated the new board for the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) in Abuja on Tuesday.
Speaking at the ceremony, Cardoso heralded the inauguration as signaling “a new dawn” for agricultural financing across the country. He underscored the critical role the scheme plays in the nation’s economic structure.
Nigeria’s Oldest Development Finance Programme
Dr. Cardoso described the ACGSF as one of Nigeria’s oldest and most vital development finance programmes. Established in 1977, the scheme is a key mechanism designed to de-risk the agricultural sector by providing guarantees for loans granted by commercial banks to farmers. This guarantee minimizes the risks faced by lending institutions, thereby encouraging them to increase their credit allocation to the agricultural value chain.
The Governor emphasized that a revitalized ACGSF is a critical tool for transforming the agricultural sector, which is essential for national food security, job creation, and economic diversification.
The inauguration of the board is expected to bring renewed focus, robust governance, and improved efficiency to the fund’s operations, ensuring it meets its mandate of facilitating increased access to credit for small-scale farmers and agricultural enterprises.
