A non-governmental organisation, One Acre Fund Nigeria, has flagged off its 2026 input delivery programme for 88,000 smallholder farmers across Nasarawa, Niger, Kwara and Plateau states.
Our correspondent reports that One Acre Fund is a social enterprise that supports smallholder farmers by providing access to quality agricultural inputs, financing, training and farmer-focused services designed to improve productivity and strengthen rural livelihoods.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Abioga community, Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on Friday, the Trees Lead for One Acre Fund Nigeria, Zainab Haruna, noted that the gesture was to help beneficiaries boost their yields during the rainy season farming period.
She noted that the benefiting farmers are those who had enrolled in the organisation’s credit programme for the 2026 season, which gave them access to inputs including bags of fertiliser, seeds, and protective equipment such as masks and gloves.
She added: “They also lacked the training that is required for them. What we are doing is bridging that gap effectively by ensuring that we provide these facilities to farmers.
“So, rather than farmers waiting until they have all of the money to purchase their inputs, they can use a small amount to enrol in the programme, access the inputs, and then over the course of the next five to six months, they are then able to slowly pay back their loan.
“It ensures that they are able to continue running their farming enterprise. They have access to training because we also make sure that all our farmers are trained, and that way we ensure that their yield for the season is improved and they are able to get better output.”
On his part, the Communications Specialist for One Acre Fund Nigeria, Kazi Nanyah, said that as a result of the planting season, the organisation was distributing 9,000 metric tonnes of agricultural inputs on credit to 88,000 participating farmers across Nasarawa, Kwara, Niger and Plateau States.
He noted that the initiative was designed to address barriers faced by smallholder farmers, including limited access to credit, rising input costs and inefficient last-mile distribution systems.
“As Nigeria enters the 2026 planting season, the country’s food system continues to face structural constraints, including rising input costs, limited access to agricultural finance and persistent inefficiencies in distribution at the community level.
“For millions of smallholder farmers who produce the bulk of Nigeria’s food, these constraints directly translate into lower productivity and heightened vulnerability.
“It is against this backdrop that One Acre Fund Nigeria has commenced the distribution of 9,000 tonnes of agricultural inputs to 88,000 farmers across Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau States.
“While modest relative to national demand, the intervention provides a practical case study in addressing systemic bottlenecks that have long constrained smallholder productivity,” Nanyah added.
Our correspondent further reports that the event brought together government officials, development partners, community leaders, security agencies, farmer representatives and One Acre Fund leadership to highlight innovations in agricultural service delivery, soil health, tree planting and farmer resilience.