The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has partnered with the All-Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) to provide financing for 400,000 farmers ahead of the 2026 dry-season farming season.
The initiative, implemented under the BOA’s Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund, is designed to boost year-round food production and improve farmers’ access to agricultural inputs, irrigation equipment and credit facilities.
The bank disclosed this in a statement titled, “Bank of Agriculture, AFAN Partner to Expand Access to Dry Season Financing for 400,000 Farmers.”
Under the partnership, AFAN will identify eligible farmers within its national network and provide information about their locations, farm sizes, cultivated commodities and proposed acreage for dry-season farming.
The association will also identify suitable Farmer Aggregation Companies with verifiable farmer networks and the capacity to coordinate participating farmers.
According to the statement, approved financing will be channelled to eligible farmers through the selected Farmer Aggregation Companies, which will serve as obligors and coordinate the distribution of approved agricultural inputs and other production requirements.
The Managing Director of BOA, Ayo Sotinrin, said the initiative would enable farmers to continue production beyond the main farming season.“Dry-season farming allows us to keep production going beyond the main farming season.
Sotinrin added that supporting agricultural production throughout the year would help improve farmers’ livelihoods and contribute to a more reliable food supply across the country.
He noted that the partnership with AFAN would strengthen the bank’s capacity to reach more farmers and expand access to agricultural financing.
The bank explained that participating farmers and aggregation companies would undergo verification, due diligence and credit assessment in line with its policies and o .mIt added that participation in the programme would be subject to satisfactory assessment and approval by the bank.
The partnership forms part of BOA’s efforts to expand agricultural financing and promote year-round farming amid challenges associated with limited irrigation infrastructure and farmers’ access to credit.
