The Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has said that 250,000 direct jobs and 1.25 million indirect jobs have been created under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.

The agency made this disclosure on Sunday in a statement issued by its Head of Corporate Communications, Anne Ihugba, while reacting to claims over purported delay in the release of funds for the programme.

According to him, the NIRSAL is committed to the disbursement of farmers’ funds approved by the CBN within five days of receipt of applications from the apex bank.

Ihugba assured farmers in the window that they would continue to access funds through it without delay.

He stated: “NIRSAL observes the highest ethical and professional standards and all funds from the CBN are disbursed directly into farmers’ accounts and farmers can access such funds once drawdown conditions have been met.

“Furthermore, NIRSAL takes its responsibility to ensure timely disbursement to farmers very seriously, as this helps to ensure timely repayment of loans, which is also a critical component of its mandate.

“As an agricultural finance risk management organisation, NIRSAL is mindful of the various risks associated with yield and repayment capacity of the farmers”, the spokesman added.

NIRSAL is a risk-sharing system created by the CBN with a mandate to enhance the flow of affordable finance and investments into fixed agricultural value chains.