BOA, AFAN to Finance 400,000 Dry-Season Farmers

The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has partnered with the All-Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) to provide financing for 400,000 farmers preparing for the 2026 dry-season farming cycle.

The initiative is being implemented under the BOA’s Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund and is aimed at expanding year-round agricultural production while improving farmers’ access to credit, inputs and irrigation equipment.

Under the partnership, AFAN will identify and present credible farmers within its national network for consideration under the programme. Details to be provided include farmers’ locations, commodities, farm sizes and proposed dry-season acreage.

AFAN will also identify suitable Farmer Aggregation Companies with verifiable farmer networks and the capacity to coordinate participating farmers.

The approved financing will be channelled to eligible farmers through selected aggregation companies, which will serve as obligors and coordinate the allocation of approved inputs and other production requirements.

The programme will also provide irrigation toolkits and other irrigation equipment to help farmers continue production beyond the rainy season and reduce their dependence on rainfall.

Managing Director of BOA, Ayo Sotinrin, said the initiative would help farmers sustain production throughout the year and improve access to resources needed for dry-season farming.

He said dry-season agriculture provided an opportunity to maintain food production beyond the main farming period, adding that the bank’s responsibility was to ensure that farmers ready to produce had access to financing, inputs and irrigation equipment.

Sotinrin also said the partnership with AFAN would strengthen BOA’s ability to reach farmers on a larger scale and develop a stronger pipeline for agricultural financing.

Farmers and Farmer Aggregation Companies seeking to participate will undergo verification, due diligence and credit assessment in line with the bank’s requirements.

The bank said participation would be subject to satisfactory assessment and approval.

The partnership comes as Nigeria continues to seek ways of increasing domestic food production and addressing challenges around access to agricultural finance and irrigation infrastructure.