Reps Investigate Insurance Cover for N1.12tr Anchor Borrowers Scheme

The House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has launched an investigation into the insurance coverage for the ₦1.12 trillion Anchor Borrowers Scheme, amid allegations of diversion of funds by ministries, agencies, and participating financial institutions.

At the hearing, Dayo Babaronti, Managing Director of the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), revealed that the corporation only provided insurance cover worth ₦109 billion for 207,514 farmers under the programme.

He explained that although NAIC was initially appointed as the sole insurer, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) later contracted Veritas Kapital Insurance and Leadway Insurance to participate. Neither company sent representatives to the hearing.

Babaronti added that NAIC’s coverage amounted to just 12% of the scheme, and for NIRSAL Plc’s ₦250 billion agricultural financing facility, NAIC provided only ₦8.25 billion in cover.

He also disclosed that NAIC insured ₦715 million worth of ginger farms out of the ₦1.6 billion announced for the programme, while other schemes such as the Bank of Industry Agro and Food Processor Scheme excluded NAIC entirely.

Committee Chairman Okafor said preliminary findings showed farmers and commodity associations were not involved in designing interventions, which contributed to poor performance.

“The reason why we are here is because the programmes did not succeed 100 per cent. If they had, we would not be here,” he stated.

Lawmakers vowed to uncover all issues that hindered the success of government interventions aimed at boosting food production, stressing that transparency and accountability in insurance coverage are critical.

The probe is expected to shed light on how funds were disbursed, why insurance coverage was limited, and whether the scheme achieved its intended impact on Nigeria’s agricultural sector.