Nigeria is moving to strengthen year-round agricultural production through a new financing partnership between the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and the All-Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN).

The partnership, announced on October 4, is designed to provide financing to farmers preparing for the 2026 dry-season farming cycle, with the objective of reducing seasonal production gaps and improving the reliability of domestic food supplies.

The programme is being implemented through BOA’s Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund, which is intended to create a verifiable pipeline of farmers seeking capital to expand production outside the main rainy season.

The initiative goes beyond conventional agricultural credit focused primarily on seed and fertiliser purchases. According to BOA Managing Director Ayo Sotinrin, financing will also support irrigation toolkits and related equipment, recognising that access to water is one of the major constraints limiting farmers’ ability to produce throughout the year.

AFAN will use its nationwide network to identify farmers and collect information covering farm locations, commodities, cultivated acreage and planned dry-season production. The association will also identify Farmer Aggregation Companies capable of coordinating farmers and serving as off-takers.

This structure could help address one of Nigeria’s longstanding agricultural problems: the disconnect between farmers requiring finance and financial institutions seeking reliable information about agricultural borrowers.

Dry-season agriculture is particularly important for food markets because it can extend production beyond the traditional rainy-season harvest. Greater access to irrigation and working capital could allow farmers to supply markets during periods when seasonal production normally falls.

The timing is significant as Nigeria continues to seek ways to raise domestic food production while limiting the effects of supply shortages and price volatility. Expanding production across more months of the year could also improve utilisation of processing, storage and distribution infrastructure.

The broader lesson is that agricultural finance cannot be separated from productive assets. Credit for seed and fertiliser may increase output, but financing irrigation, equipment and aggregation can potentially create the conditions for farmers to produce more consistently.

For Nigeria, the development of a stronger dry-season farming economy could therefore become an important component of building a more stable domestic food system.