BOA, AFAN Target 400,000 Farmers for Nigeria’s 2026 Dry Season as Financing and Irrigation Push Begins

By Simpson Global Media News Desk

Nigeria is preparing to expand agricultural production beyond the rainy season under a new financing partnership targeting about 400,000 farmers for the 2026 dry-season farming cycle.

The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and the All-Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) have entered into a partnership designed to widen farmers’ access to credit, agricultural inputs and irrigation equipment, with the stated objective of keeping farms productive beyond the main wet-season period.

The initiative is being implemented through the BOA’s Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund, a financing facility intended to support farmers who are already engaged in production and require additional resources to sustain or expand their operations.

Under the arrangement, AFAN will use its nationwide farmer network to identify and present prospective participants, while the Bank of Agriculture will subject farmers and Farmer Aggregation Companies to verification, due diligence and credit assessment before financing is approved.

The programme is significant because Nigeria’s agricultural production remains heavily dependent on rainfall. For farmers without reliable irrigation, the end of the wet season can mean a sharp reduction in cultivation, even when demand for food remains high.

By combining financing with irrigation equipment, the BOA-AFAN initiative is seeking to address two of the constraints that frequently prevent smallholder farmers from maintaining production throughout the year: access to capital and access to water.

The immediate test, however, will be implementation.

The announcement establishes a target of 400,000 farmers, but actual participation will depend on verification and approval. The impact on food supply, farm incomes and prices will ultimately depend on how quickly eligible farmers receive financing and equipment and how successfully they translate those resources into production.

A push for year-round farming

The partnership comes as Nigeria approaches another dry-season farming cycle.

For many farmers, the transition from the rainy season to the dry season brings a fundamental change in production conditions.

Rain-fed agriculture can provide sufficient water during the wet months, but once rainfall declines, farmers require alternative sources of water if they want to continue cultivating crops.

Irrigation can make that possible.

But irrigation equipment, pumping systems, water infrastructure, fuel or other operating costs can be beyond the reach of small-scale farmers.

Credit therefore becomes an important part of the equation.

A farmer may have suitable land and a ready market but still be unable to cultivate during the dry season because there is not enough money to acquire seed, fertiliser, crop-protection products or irrigation equipment.

The BOA initiative is designed to reduce that financing gap.

According to the bank, the programme will provide financing for agricultural inputs as well as irrigation toolkits and other associated equipment.

The intention is to enable farmers to reduce their dependence on rainfall and continue production beyond the main agricultural season.

That could be particularly important for vegetables, rice, wheat and other crops that can be cultivated under irrigation in different parts of the country.

How the partnership will work

AFAN is expected to play a central role in identifying farmers for the programme.

The association will submit information on prospective participants, including their locations, commodities, farm sizes and proposed dry-season acreage.

This information is intended to give the Bank of Agriculture a clearer picture of the farmers seeking financing and the scale of production they intend to undertake.

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

The aggregation model is important because lending to thousands of individual smallholders can present significant administrative and monitoring challenges.

A Farmer Aggregation Company can provide a structure through which farmers are organised around common production or marketing arrangements.

Under the announced programme, approved financing will be channelled through eligible aggregation companies that will serve as obligors and coordinate the allocation of approved inputs and other production requirements.

The model is intended to make it possible for the bank to reach farmers at scale while maintaining a system for verification and oversight.

It also creates responsibilities for the organisations involved.

AFAN will have to ensure that the farmers it presents are genuine participants with identifiable production activities.

Aggregation companies will have to demonstrate that they have functioning farmer networks and can coordinate the use of financing and inputs.

The Bank of Agriculture, meanwhile, will have to ensure that its credit-assessment and monitoring procedures are applied consistently.

Not every applicant will automatically qualify

The 400,000-farmer target should not be interpreted as a guarantee that every farmer presented by AFAN will receive financing.

The Bank of Agriculture has stated that farmers and aggregation companies will undergo verification, due diligence and credit assessments in accordance with the bank’s policies and requirements.

Participation will be subject to satisfactory assessment and approval.

That condition is significant.

Agricultural financing carries risks that differ from many other forms of lending.

Farmers face weather uncertainty, pests, diseases, market-price fluctuations, security challenges and other factors that can affect their ability to repay loans.

A dry-season farmer may have access to irrigation but still experience losses if there is a major pest outbreak or a sudden collapse in market prices.

The bank therefore has to balance two objectives.

It must make credit sufficiently accessible to farmers who need it, while protecting the sustainability of the financing programme.

If credit conditions are excessively restrictive, many smallholders may be excluded.

If lending standards are too weak, the programme could experience high default rates and become difficult to sustain.

The verification and assessment process will therefore be central to the success of the initiative.

Why irrigation matters

Irrigation is one of the most persistent structural issues in Nigerian agriculture.

The country's agricultural potential is large, but much of its farming activity remains dependent on rainfall.

That dependence exposes farmers to the timing, intensity and distribution of rainfall.

A late start to the rainy season can delay planting.

An early end can reduce yields.

Excessive rainfall can cause flooding.

Long dry spells can damage crops.

Irrigation provides farmers with greater control over one of the most important factors in crop production: water.

It does not eliminate all agricultural risks, but it can reduce dependence on unpredictable rainfall.

For dry-season agriculture, irrigation is particularly important.

A farmer who can access a reliable water source can potentially plant after the main rainy season, allowing land to produce another crop instead of remaining idle.

This creates opportunities for higher annual farm output.

It can also create employment for agricultural labourers, transporters, processors and traders.

The benefits can therefore extend beyond the individual farmer.

From seasonal production to continuous supply

Nigeria's food markets experience the effects of seasonal production patterns.

Some crops become more abundant during harvest periods and less available during other parts of the year.

That can contribute to changes in prices and availability.

Increasing dry-season production could help moderate some of those fluctuations by adding additional supplies to the market outside the main harvest period.

The effect will vary by crop and location.

Not every crop is suitable for every dry-season environment, and irrigation availability differs significantly across Nigeria.

Nevertheless, the principle is straightforward: more production across more months of the year can strengthen the continuity of food supply.

That is one of the reasons the Bank of Agriculture has described the initiative as part of its broader effort to support year-round production.

The bank's managing director, Ayo Sotinrin, said the objective was to ensure that farmers who are ready and able to produce have access to financing, inputs and irrigation equipment needed to continue production.

He also linked year-round production with improved farmer livelihoods and a more reliable food supply.

The smallholder farmer at the centre

Nigeria's agricultural economy includes commercial farms and large agribusinesses, but smallholder farmers remain essential to food production.

Many smallholders operate on relatively small plots and have limited access to formal credit.

They may lack the collateral required by conventional lenders.

Some may have irregular income and limited financial records.

Others may be far from formal banking infrastructure.

Agricultural associations and aggregation systems can help bridge some of those gaps.

By identifying farmers and organising them into verifiable networks, AFAN and participating aggregation companies can potentially make it easier for a financial institution to reach producers who might otherwise struggle to access formal agricultural credit.

But the system will have to remain transparent.

Farmers need to understand the terms of financing, their obligations and the conditions attached to inputs or equipment.

They also need confidence that access to the programme is based on clear criteria rather than personal connections.

A financing challenge that extends beyond this programme

Access to finance has long been identified as one of the constraints affecting Nigerian agriculture.

Agriculture requires money before income is generated.

Farmers need to spend on land preparation, seeds, fertiliser, pesticides, labour, transport and other inputs before they harvest and sell their produce.

This creates a timing problem.

The farmer has expenses at the beginning and throughout the production cycle, but revenue generally comes later.

For a farmer operating entirely from personal savings, that can limit the area cultivated.

It can also make it difficult to invest in improved technology.

Affordable agricultural finance can therefore allow a farmer to move from subsistence or very small-scale production towards a more commercially viable operation.

However, finance works best when combined with other support.

Credit without reliable inputs may not produce the expected result.

Inputs without extension support may be used inefficiently.

Irrigation equipment without access to water sources, maintenance and technical knowledge may remain underused.

The success of the BOA-AFAN initiative will therefore depend on how these components interact.

The importance of farmer aggregation

The use of Farmer Aggregation Companies is another important part of the programme.

Agricultural aggregation can help connect dispersed smallholder farmers with finance, input suppliers, processors and markets.

Instead of dealing with individual farmers separately, an aggregator can coordinate production across a network.

That can create economies of scale.

It can also make it easier to plan production around a particular commodity or market.

For financial institutions, aggregation can simplify administration.

For farmers, it can potentially improve their bargaining position and access to services.

But aggregation also requires strong governance.

Farmers need to know how funds and inputs are allocated.

Records need to be accurate.

Production claims need to be verifiable.

And companies acting as intermediaries need to be accountable.

The BOA's stated verification and due-diligence requirements are therefore an important safeguard.

The food-security dimension

The programme is being introduced against the background of persistent concern about food security in Nigeria.

Food prices have placed pressure on household budgets, while insecurity, climate shocks, high input costs and infrastructure constraints have affected agricultural production in different regions.

Expanding production is therefore a central part of efforts to strengthen food availability.

But increasing output is only one part of food security.

Food must also be affordable.

It must reach markets.

It must be stored safely.

It must be processed efficiently.

And farmers must be able to earn enough from production to remain in agriculture.

The dry-season financing programme addresses one part of that chain.

Its emphasis is on production and the resources required to keep farmers operating beyond the rainy season.

The wider food-security impact will depend on what happens after production.

Farm income and rural livelihoods

For farmers, dry-season cultivation can provide an additional income opportunity.

Instead of relying on one major harvest, a farmer may be able to produce more frequently.

That can provide additional revenue and potentially spread financial risk across different production cycles.

For rural communities, more active farming can create demand for labour and services.

Workers are needed to prepare land, plant, weed, irrigate and harvest.

Transporters move produce to markets.

Traders purchase and distribute crops.

Processors add value to raw agricultural products.

Equipment suppliers provide irrigation systems and other machinery.

The economic effect can therefore extend through the rural value chain.

However, additional production only translates into higher income when farmers can sell their produce at viable prices.

That makes market access another critical factor.

Production alone is not enough

Nigeria has experienced situations in which farmers increased output but struggled to obtain satisfactory returns because of weak market structures, inadequate storage or sudden price declines.

This creates a risk for any production-support programme.

If thousands of farmers simultaneously cultivate the same commodity and harvest at the same time, markets can become oversupplied.

Prices may fall.

Farmers may then find it difficult to repay financing.

The aggregation model could help address some of this problem if production is coordinated with market demand.

Farmer networks can potentially provide better information about expected demand and help connect producers with buyers.

But such coordination requires accurate market information and strong commercial relationships.

The programme's ultimate success will therefore depend not only on how much is planted but also on what happens to the harvest.

Irrigation equipment and the question of sustainability

The inclusion of irrigation toolkits is one of the most practical elements of the initiative.

But irrigation equipment requires more than distribution.

Pumps need maintenance.

Water sources need management.

Fuel or electricity may be required.

Pipes and other components can wear out.

Farmers need technical knowledge to use systems efficiently.

Water must also be managed responsibly.

If groundwater or surface water is used without proper planning, increased agricultural activity can create pressure on local water resources.

The programme will therefore need to consider sustainability as it expands.

The objective should not simply be to provide equipment for one season.

The equipment should remain useful beyond the initial financing cycle.

That means maintenance, training, spare parts and access to technical services can be just as important as the initial investment.

Climate pressures make the timing important

Climate variability has made water management an increasingly important issue for Nigerian agriculture.

Farmers across the country have faced different combinations of drought, excessive rainfall, flooding and changing seasonal patterns.

Dry-season farming supported by irrigation can provide one way of reducing dependence on rainfall.

But climate resilience also requires farmers to use appropriate crop varieties, improve soil management and adopt water-efficient practices.

The new financing programme could therefore have a larger impact if it encourages efficient irrigation rather than simply increasing water use.

Drip irrigation and other efficient systems can help deliver water closer to crop roots, reducing unnecessary losses.

The choice of technology will depend on the crop, terrain, water source and farmer's resources.

Regional differences will matter

Nigeria's agricultural conditions vary widely from one region to another.

The northern states have significant opportunities for dry-season farming where irrigation water is available.

The Middle Belt has major agricultural production zones with different rainfall and soil conditions.

Southern states face their own opportunities and challenges, including high rainfall, flooding risks and different crop systems.

A national financing target therefore cannot be implemented through one identical model everywhere.

Farmers in a semi-arid region may require irrigation infrastructure as a priority.

A farmer in a flood-prone area may instead need drainage and flood-management support.

A rice producer may have different financing requirements from a vegetable grower or a wheat farmer.

The ability to adapt financing and technical support to local conditions will be important.

Verification could determine the programme's credibility

Because the target is large, implementation will require careful verification.

The programme is expected to cover 400,000 farmers, a scale that makes reliable farmer identification essential.

Without proper verification, agricultural financing schemes can face problems involving duplicate beneficiaries, inaccurate farm sizes, non-existent farms or intermediaries that do not actually represent the farmers they claim to serve.

The BOA has indicated that it will conduct due diligence and credit assessments.

That process should provide an important layer of protection.

For farmers, it also means that being nominated or identified does not necessarily mean financing has been approved.

The distinction should be clearly communicated to participants.

The role of AFAN

AFAN's involvement gives the programme access to a broad farmer network.

As a national farmers' association, its role is to connect agricultural producers with government and other stakeholders.

For the new initiative, that network is being used to identify prospective beneficiaries.

The partnership also gives AFAN responsibility for ensuring that information submitted to the bank is credible.

That includes details about where farmers operate, what they produce and the scale of their proposed dry-season cultivation.

The quality of that information will affect the bank's ability to make sound financing decisions.

If farmer records are accurate, the programme can potentially be implemented more efficiently.

If records are incomplete, the verification process may become slower and more expensive.

The Bank of Agriculture's role

The Bank of Agriculture is the government's specialised agricultural finance institution.

Its role is to provide financial services to the agricultural sector, where conventional commercial lending can be difficult because of the seasonal nature and risk profile of farming.

The new programme fits that institutional purpose.

The challenge will be to combine scale with financial discipline.

A target of 400,000 farmers is substantial.

Reaching that number will require systems capable of processing applications, conducting assessments, disbursing approved financing and monitoring the use of funds.

The bank will also need to manage repayment and recovery.

A successful programme would demonstrate that agricultural lending can be expanded while remaining financially sustainable.

A test of government-backed agricultural finance

Nigeria has implemented numerous agricultural intervention programmes over the years.

Some have focused on fertiliser.

Others have targeted seeds, mechanisation, credit, irrigation or specific commodities.

The recurring challenge has been converting programmes into sustained improvements in productivity and farmer incomes.

The new BOA-AFAN partnership will therefore be judged not simply by the number of farmers announced at the beginning.

The more important indicators will emerge later.

How many farmers actually receive financing?

How much land is cultivated?

How much additional output is produced?

How much of the financing is repaid?

How much income do participating farmers earn?

How much irrigation equipment remains operational after the first season?

And does the programme contribute to more stable food supplies?

Those outcomes will provide a clearer assessment than the headline target alone.

Connecting finance with food prices

There is also a wider consumer dimension.

When agricultural production is insufficient, Nigeria can become more dependent on imports.

Import dependence exposes consumers to international commodity prices, exchange-rate movements, shipping costs and other external factors.

Increasing domestic production can reduce some of that exposure.

However, increased production does not automatically guarantee lower prices.

Farmers face costs.

Transport is expensive.

Storage losses can be significant.

Processing capacity varies.

Market intermediaries add costs.

Therefore, the most realistic expectation from the dry-season initiative is not that financing 400,000 farmers will immediately make food cheap.

Rather, it can contribute to a more stable domestic supply if implementation is successful.

A larger and more consistent supply base can reduce some seasonal shortages and strengthen the resilience of food markets.

The importance of post-harvest systems

More farming also means more produce that must be handled after harvest.

If storage capacity is inadequate, increased production can result in greater post-harvest losses.

Farmers may then be forced to sell quickly, particularly for perishable commodities.

That can weaken their bargaining power.

Dry-season programmes should therefore be linked to storage, transportation and market access.

For non-perishable grains, warehouses can help farmers hold produce until market conditions improve.

For vegetables and other perishables, cold-chain infrastructure and efficient transportation become more important.

For crops destined for processing, reliable links with processors can help ensure that production translates into commercial value.

The opportunity for agribusiness

The 400,000-farmer target could also create opportunities for private-sector agribusinesses.

Input suppliers can expand their markets.

Irrigation-equipment companies can develop new customers.

Processors can source larger volumes.

Commodity traders can establish stronger supply networks.

Financial technology companies can potentially support farmer payments and record-keeping.

The programme could therefore contribute to a broader agricultural ecosystem if its financing is connected to functioning value chains.

But private investment will also depend on predictability.

Farmers and agribusinesses need confidence that policies will remain sufficiently stable to justify long-term investment.

The issue of security

Security remains another factor that cannot be separated from agricultural production.

In some parts of Nigeria, farmers have faced insecurity that prevents them from reaching farms or transporting produce safely.

Financing cannot solve that problem on its own.

A farmer may receive credit and irrigation equipment but still be unable to cultivate if access to farmland is unsafe.

Similarly, agricultural output cannot reach markets efficiently if roads are insecure.

The success of national agricultural programmes therefore depends partly on broader security conditions.

Where farmers can operate safely, financing and irrigation support can have greater impact.

What farmers will need next

For farmers preparing for the 2026 dry season, the immediate question is how the programme will translate from announcement to access.

AFAN must identify prospective participants.

Farmer Aggregation Companies must demonstrate their capacity.

The Bank of Agriculture must complete verification and credit assessments.

Approved financing must then be disbursed.

Inputs and irrigation equipment must reach farmers in time for the relevant planting windows.

Timing matters.

Agriculture operates according to biological and seasonal cycles.

A financing decision that arrives too late can have much less value than one that reaches a farmer before planting.

That makes administrative efficiency an important part of programme performance.

The broader goal of agricultural resilience

The BOA-AFAN partnership is ultimately about more than one dry-season cycle.

Nigeria needs an agricultural system capable of producing food under changing conditions.

That requires access to finance, irrigation, improved inputs, mechanisation, extension services, storage, processing, transport and reliable markets.

No single programme can provide all of those elements.

But targeted interventions can address specific bottlenecks.

The current initiative is aimed particularly at finance and irrigation.

If it works as intended, it could help demonstrate the value of combining those two components for smallholder farmers.

The lessons could then inform future agricultural financing programmes.

Measuring the outcome

The 400,000-farmer target provides a clear benchmark, but success should ultimately be measured by outcomes.

The first measure will be participation.

How many farmers are actually approved?

The second will be production.

How much additional land is cultivated and how much food is produced?

The third will be productivity.

Do farmers achieve higher yields because of improved inputs and irrigation?

The fourth will be income.

Do participating farmers earn enough to justify continued investment?

The fifth will be repayment.

Can farmers repay financing without falling into unsustainable debt?

The sixth will be food-market impact.

Does increased dry-season production improve availability and reduce some seasonal pressure on prices?

And the seventh will be sustainability.

Can irrigation systems and other investments remain operational beyond the initial programme?

Those questions will become increasingly important as the programme progresses.

A potentially important shift in Nigeria's farming calendar

If implemented effectively, the initiative could encourage more farmers to view agriculture as a year-round commercial activity rather than one dominated by the rainy season.

That would represent an important shift.

Continuous production can provide more regular income.

It can also make better use of land and agricultural infrastructure.

For the national economy, year-round farming can contribute to a more predictable supply of agricultural commodities.

But achieving that shift will require more than financing.

Farmers need water.

They need secure access to land.

They need markets.

They need roads.

They need storage.

They need information.

And they need a predictable policy environment.

The new programme addresses only part of that larger equation, but it targets two constraints that are particularly important for dry-season cultivation.

What happens next

The next stage will be the identification and screening of farmers.

AFAN is expected to present farmers within its network and provide the information required by the Bank of Agriculture.

Farmer Aggregation Companies will also be assessed.

The bank will then conduct verification, due diligence and credit assessments.

Only applicants that satisfy the bank's requirements will receive approval.

Once approved, financing and associated inputs or irrigation equipment can be deployed.

The real measure of progress will come when farmers begin cultivating and eventually harvesting.

That is when the programme's promise of year-round production will face the practical realities of farming.

Conclusion

The Bank of Agriculture and the All-Farmers Association of Nigeria are preparing a major dry-season agricultural financing initiative aimed at reaching about 400,000 farmers across the country.

The programme combines access to finance with agricultural inputs and irrigation equipment under the bank's Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund.

Its central objective is straightforward: enable farmers to continue producing beyond the rainy season and strengthen Nigeria's domestic food supply.

The timing is significant.

Nigeria is entering another dry-season cycle while households continue to face food-price pressures and the country seeks to strengthen domestic production and reduce vulnerabilities associated with food imports.

For farmers, access to affordable financing and irrigation could provide an opportunity to increase production, generate additional income and make more productive use of farmland.

For the wider economy, greater year-round production could strengthen agricultural value chains and contribute to more consistent food supplies.

But the scale of the announcement also creates a major implementation challenge.

Four hundred thousand farmers is a large target.

They must be correctly identified, assessed, financed and supported.

Irrigation equipment must reach farms and remain operational.

Inputs must arrive at the right time.

Farmers must be able to access their land safely.

And the resulting harvest must find reliable markets.

The programme's success will therefore depend less on the announcement itself than on what happens in the months ahead.

If the financing reaches genuine producers on time and the combination of credit, inputs and irrigation translates into higher output, the initiative could become an important component of Nigeria's effort to expand year-round agriculture.

If implementation is slow or access remains concentrated among a limited number of beneficiaries, its wider impact will be much smaller.

The 2026 dry season will consequently provide an important test of Nigeria's capacity to turn agricultural finance into measurable production.

For the country's farmers, the opportunity is clear.

For the government and the Bank of Agriculture, the challenge is equally clear: ensure that the resources reach the people who can put them to work.

And for Nigerian consumers, the ultimate question will be whether the additional cultivation contributes to a stronger, more reliable domestic food supply.