Nigeria's commercial banks agreed on February 1st to triple their lending to the agricultural sector from around 1% to at least 3% of loans. The decision by the Bankers' Committee came after mounting concerns about the failure of banks to increase lending to the real sector, especially agriculture (which accounts for about 40% of Nigeria's GDP and 60% of employment). At its January meeting the Central Bank's MPC reckoned that the greatest challenge facing the economy is insufficient flow of credit to the critical sectors of the economy, and stressed the need to get credit flowing to agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises and manufacturing. While growth in credit to the private sector declined in 2010, lending to government grew substantially as banks, still reeling from the banking crisis in 2009, remained risk adverse. However, banks face a serious challenge in meeting the 3% target for loans to agricultural producers, as many lenders lack the capacity properly to assess risk and service a sector that is dominated by small producers.