The Federal Government on has rolled out the Renewed Hope Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, RHGEEP 3.0, with its FarmerMoni component targeting over 22,000 farmers nationwide.
The RHGEEP 3.0 initiative is aimed at boosting job creation and increasing food production, with beneficiaries to be verified using BVN and NIN before funds are disbursed through
Speaking during the launch on Wednesday, in Abuja, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, said the programmes were key parts of the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at expanding opportunities and ensuring that no Nigerian is left behind.
“GEEP 3.0 is designed to open access to finance for small businesses, artisans and traders so they can grow their enterprises, create jobs and contribute to national development,” Doro said.
He added, “This is financial inclusion in action, bringing the underserved into the economic mainstream. Our focus is on poverty reduction through empowerment, not short-term relief.”
On agriculture, the minister said the FarmerMoni Dry and Wet Season Programme would support farmers across both planting seasons and strengthen food security.
“Our farmers are the backbone of our economy, and today we are investing in their resilience and productivity,” he said.
Speaking further, Doro said the Federal Government had so far reached 9.3 million vulnerable households under the Conditional Cash Transfer programme.
He explained that when the average household size was considered, over 30 million Nigerians had benefited from the intervention.
The minister added that the government was extending FarmerMoni to more than 20,000 farmers across the country as part of efforts to boost food production and job creation.
Also speaking, the Acting National Coordinator,National Social Investment Programme Agency NSIPA, Associate Professor Badamasi Lawah, said the launch of RHGEEP 3.0 and the FarmerMoni Dry and Wet Season Programme showed the Federal Government’s renewed commitment to placing economic empowerment, financial inclusion and productive livelihoods at the centre of national development.
He described RHGEEP 3.0 as a strategic intervention to strengthen micro, small and informal enterprises, which he called the backbone of the Nigerian economy.
Lawah said the FarmerMoni programme also reflected the government’s recognition of agriculture as a key driver of food security, employment and rural development, adding that supporting farmers across both planting seasons would ensure continuity in production, reduce seasonal risks and improve income stability.
He added that the programmes were deliberately inclusive, targeting women, youth, persons with disabilities, rural dwellers and other vulnerable groups, and stressed that transparency, accountability and impact would guide implementation.
Explaining the modalities,the National Programme Manager of GEEP, Hamza Ibrahim Baba, said the scheme, which is under the National Social Investment Programme Agency, would open its portal for eligible farmers to register for interest-free and collateral-free loans.
Baba said the programme was targeted at vulnerable and poor farmers at the grassroots, not large-scale commercial farmers, adding that the loan size would depend on the economic needs of each farming activity.
He said applicants must be Nigerians above 18 years, already engaged in farming, own or rent farmland, have a bank account and valid identification, and belong to a recognised farming cooperative or association in their local government.
According to him, the programme covers all 774 local government areas in the country, with state programme managers, enumerators, banks, fintech recovery agents and farmer associations involved in implementation across the states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He disclosed that the government was targeting more than 22,000 farmers in the current phase, with about 28 farmers per local government, adding that more phases would follow, including TraderMoni and MarketMoni for artisans and petty traders.
Baba said the funds were expected to be disbursed before the end of March to enable farmers take advantage of the wet season planting period.
On concerns about political interference, he said the digitised registration and verification process, as well as working through recognised farmer associations, would ensure that only genuine farmers benefit from the scheme.
Speaking on the role of financial partners, the Head of Fintech Partnerships at Wema Bank, Timileyin Obisesan, said the bank was pleased to be part of the RHGEEP 3.0 programme and would disburse funds to farmers under the scheme.
Obisesan said the involvement of banks was to ensure that the money gets to the right beneficiaries, adding that BVN, NIN and other digital identity checks would be used before any payment is made.
He added that the bank would deploy staff and agents to rural areas and also work with farmer groups to reach beneficiaries who are not in the cities.
The Federal Government urged beneficiaries to use the funds responsibly and repay their loans promptly to sustain the programme and expand its reach.
GEEP is one of the social investment schemes implemented under the National Social Investment Programme Agency,NSIPA, alongside programmes such as the Conditional Cash Transfer, N-Power and the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, with FarmerMoni, TraderMoni and MarketMoni as its key components.
