The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that in the first two months of 2022, it disbursed a total of N567.7bn to six critical sectors of the economy.
It stated this in its most recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPCs) communique published on its website and obtained by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday.
The sectors are manufacturing, industry, agriculture, energy, healthcare, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Agriculture
According to CBN, between January and February 2022, under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) a total of N29.67 billion was disbursed to farmers for the procurement of inputs and cultivation of maize, rice, and wheat, three crops that hitherto were significant concerns of FX demand.
“These disbursements bring the total under the programme to over 4.52 million smallholder farmers, cultivating 21 commodities across the country, comes to a total of N975.61 billion,” CBN said.
CBN said it also released N19.15 billion to finance five large-scale agricultural projects under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS), bringing the total disbursements under the Scheme to N735.17 billion for 671 projects in agro-production and agro-processing.
Industry
In addition to these, CBN said it disbursed the sum of N428.31 billion under the N1.0 trillion Real Sector Facility to 37 additional projects in the manufacturing, agriculture, and services sectors.
The funds sourced from the Real Sector Support Facility – Differentiated Cash Reserve Requirement (RSSF-DCRR), were utilized for both greenfield and brownfield (expansion) projects under the COVID-19 intervention for the Manufacturing Sector (CIMS).
Cumulative disbursements under the Real Sector Facility currently stands at N1.75 trillion, disbursed to 368 projects across the country.
Under the 100 for 100 Policy on Production and Productivity (PPP), the Bank has disbursed the sum of N29.51 billion to 31 projects, comprising 16 in manufacturing, 13 in agriculture, and 2 in healthcare.
Healthcare
The apex Bank said it also disbursed N8.50 billion to 6 healthcare projects under the Healthcare Sector Intervention Facility (HSIF), bringing the cumulative disbursements to N116.72 billion for 124 projects, comprising of 31 pharmaceuticals, 56 hospitals, and 37 other services.
An additional tranche of N14.7 million was disbursed to 5 researchers under the Healthcare Sector Research and Development (HSRD) Grant.
SME
To support households and businesses affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic, CBN claimed it disbursed N21.66 billion to 19,685 beneficiaries, comprising 12,044 households and 7,641 small businesses under the Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) within the period.
The cumulative disbursements under the TCF stood at N390.45 billion to 797,351 beneficiaries, comprising 660,096 households and 137,255 small businesses.
Energy
CBN also disbursed N11.11 billion to power sector players, under the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Payment Assurance Facility (NBETPAF), bringing the cumulative disbursements under this facility to N1.28 trillion.
The sum of N12.64 billion was also released to Distribution Companies (DisCos) under the Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility – Phase 2 (NEMSF-2).
The cumulative disbursement under the NEMSF-2 thus stood at ₦232.93 billion.
“Both interventions were designed to improve access to capital and ease the development of enabling infrastructure in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry,” CBN stated.
