Nigeria has begun distributing 10 million fertilizer bags and rolled out a Guaranteed Price Model aimed at 2 million smallholder farmers to lift output, cut market risk and bolster food security.
Under the scheme, 20 Farmer Aggregation Companies will supply certified seeds, fertilizer and extension support, then buy harvests at a government-approved minimum price so farmers can recover production costs.
Bank of Agriculture chief Ayodeji Sotinrin said nearly 300,000 farmers are already enrolled, with more than 1.1 million fertilizer bags and 16,470 metric tonnes of improved seeds moving through 20 states.
Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari said one-third of beneficiaries in the Renewed Hope Smallholder Support and Value Chain Fund are women, and called the program a shift from past input-only interventions.
The aggregation model has expanded from about 3,000 farmers to more than 400,000 so far, with the government targeting 1 million farmers by 2030 as it builds a more structured farm-to-market system.