The Federal Government, in collaboration with the Niger State Government, has introduced plans to offer N300,000 interest-free loans to 600 small-scale farmers in the state, representing a possible disbursement of N180 million.
The initiative is being applied via the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), underneath the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), to enhance agricultural productiveness and help smallholder farmers.
The National Programme Manager of GEEP, Hamza Baba, disclosed this on Saturday in Minna through the graduation of the FarmerMoni enumeration train and coaching of GEEP desk officers drawn from the state’s 25 native authorities areas.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Baba defined that the loans would allow farmers to buy agricultural inputs, broaden manufacturing and enhance their livelihoods.
FarmerMoni Offers N300,000 Interest-Free Loans
Baba stated every eligible farmer would obtain N300,000, repayable inside one yr, with compensation anticipated to start six months after the graduation of farming actions.
He defined that the intervention would cowl farmers concerned in crop cultivation, poultry, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture.
The programme may also contain the identification, registration and verification of beneficiaries to make sure that the funds attain energetic farmers.
Key necessities for the enumeration train embody:
- Digital pictures and biometric info.
- National Identification Numbers (NIN).
- Verified farm places and particulars of agricultural actions.
- Registration via designated GEEP desk officers.
Baba added that the company would collaborate with the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) and native authorities officers to watch mortgage utilisation and compensation.
Niger State Introduces Farmer Verification Measures
The Niger State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Ibrahim Inga, described the initiative as a part of efforts to enhance present poverty discount programmes in the state.
He stated the involvement of related stakeholders would strengthen transparency and make sure that solely real farmers benefited from the intervention.
Similarly, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Social Investment Programme, Hauwa Mohammed, stated desk officers had been outfitted with tablets to seize farmers’ particulars and farmland places.
She defined that the digital registration course of would assist stop fictitious beneficiaries from accessing the loans.
FG Expands Agricultural Financing Programmes
The FarmerMoni initiative is a part of the Federal Government’s broader efforts to broaden agricultural financing and enhance entry to credit score for small-scale producers.
In March 2026, Nairametrics reported that the Federal Government permitted a N250 billion facility for the Bank of Agriculture to offer smallholder farmers with loans at single-digit rates of interest.
In September, the Nigeria Commodity Exchange and Bank of Agriculture launched a price guarantee scheme concentrating on 500,000 farmers in its first part, with plans to broaden to 2 million beneficiaries.
Earlier, the Federal Government and BOA introduced an agricultural financing programme aimed toward rising annual grain manufacturing from roughly 11 million tonnes to 25 million tonnes.
The Niger State intervention differs from these broader financing programmes by providing interest-free loans on to a focused group of 600 farmers.
