The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has announced plans to engage 370,000 youths in agriculture production through its Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme, AADS.
The programme is for young Nigerians aged eighteen to thirty-five years old.
According to a tweet by the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on social media, Lauretta Onochie, the CBN will provide short and medium-term funding windows for the implementation of the AADS scheme.
In the tweet, she disclosed that the participating Finance Institutions, PFIs would act as CBN agents in disbursing the financing to d beneficiaries.
Youths In Agriculture Production

Also, the PFIs would purchase the inputs and then sell to the youth, using CBN-approved non-interest financing contract at an all-inclusive rate of return of 9%.
She further revealed that the programme also aims at ensuring collaboration between state governments, the CBN and relevant stakeholders to create jobs in the agricultural sector.
Onochie added that the programme strongly focuses on crops where states have a comparative advantage.
In another tweet, she said the beneficiaries will be responsible for the management of the farm, provide a third party, and a guarantor for repayment of financing facility.
It was gathered that the Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation would provide insurance cover for agricultural enterprises.