The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has partnered with the All-Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) to finance 400,000 farmers ahead of the 2026 dry-season farming cycle.
The initiative, under BOA’s Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund, is designed to support year-round food production by improving farmers’ access to financing, agricultural inputs and irrigation equipment.
Under the partnership, AFAN will identify farmers within its national network and provide details including their locations, commodities, farm sizes and proposed dry-season acreage.
The association will also identify suitable Farmer Aggregation Companies (FACs) with verifiable farmer networks and the capacity to coordinate participating farmers.
Approved financing will be provided to eligible farmers through the FACs, which will coordinate the allocation of approved inputs and other production requirements.
The programme will also provide irrigation toolkits and other irrigation equipment to help farmers reduce their dependence on rainfall and sustain production during the dry season.
BOA Managing Director, Ayo Sotinrin, said the initiative would help farmers continue production beyond the main farming season while supporting a more reliable food supply.
He added that the partnership with AFAN would strengthen BOA’s ability to reach farmers at scale and expand agricultural financing.
The bank said participating farmers and aggregation companies would undergo verification, due diligence and credit assessment, with participation subject to satisfactory assessment and approval.