The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will support about 1.6 million farmers across the agricultural value chain for the 2020 farming season to help raise farm output.

The apex bank will also finance the farmers in Kwali, Abuja under its 10 Focal Commodities Intervention Programme, which would cut across value chains, disclosed by Mr. Yila Yusuf, Director in charge of Development Finance Department.

Yusuf’s statement was issued by his representative Ayoola Quadri who flagged off the farm inputs distribution process for cotton farmers for the 2020 planting season.

The initiative will help guarantee food security in the country and CBN has engaged 256,000 farmers in cotton production for this season through its Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), said Yusuf.

He, however, emphasised that farmers were expected to pay back the loans disbursed by CBN under the ABP.

The bank has reduced the interest rates paid on the loan from 9 per cent to 5 per cent because of the COVID-19 pandemic.