The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has partnered with the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) to expand financing for about 400,000 farmers preparing for the 2026 dry-season farming cycle, Tribune Online reported on October 2, 2026.
The scheme runs under the bank's Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund and covers agricultural inputs, irrigation toolkits and related equipment, the report said. Its aim is to keep production going year round and cut farmers' reliance on rainfall, TheStar reported.
How the Money Moves
AFAN will identify eligible farmers through its national network and send the bank each farmer's location, crop, farm size and planned dry-season acreage, according to Tribune Online. It will also identify Farmer Aggregation Companies (FACs) with verifiable farmer networks.
Under the bank's Farmer Allocation Model, approved funds go to eligible farmers through the FACs, which act as obligors and coordinate the delivery of inputs. BOA will verify participants, carry out due diligence and credit assessments, and make the final decision on who takes part.
Bank Chief on Year-Round Output
"Dry season farming allows us to keep production going beyond the main farming season," BOA Managing Director Ayo Sotinrin said, according to TheStar. "Our responsibility is to ensure that farmers who are ready and able to produce have access to the financing," he said. "By supporting production throughout the year, we are supporting farmers' livelihoods."
Sotinrin said the partnership would help the bank reach farmers at greater scale and build a stronger pipeline for agricultural finance. TheStar cited limited irrigation infrastructure and poor access to credit as the main obstacles to dry-season farming.
Neither report gives the total value of the fund, the loan sizes, interest rates, repayment terms or the states and crops covered.
Why Dry-Season Output Matters
Rain-fed farming has grown less reliable. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency's 2026 Seasonal Climate Prediction warned of dry spells in parts of 14 states, Vanguard reported on October 7, 2026. Farm operators interviewed by Vanguard said some farmers lost 30% to 50% of expected harvests to flooding and dry spells.
Some states are already building dry-season capacity. Jigawa recruited more than 1,500 extension agents to cover 55,000 hectares during its wheat season and approved 1,185 motorcycles for them, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said at a summit in Abuja, Extractive 360 reported. Kyari also said more than 100,000 farmers in six states now receive weekly climate advisory text messages through the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension, NiMet and private-sector partners.
FoodPrices Nigeria tracks vegetables, grains and tubers across Lagos markets, where dry-season harvests decide supply in the months when rain-fed crops are scarce.
#BankOfAgriculture #AFAN #DrySeasonFarming #Irrigation #AgricFinance #Agriculture #Nigeria #FoodPrices