Agrictech rising…
By Alexander Chiejina.
A quiet revolution is taking place in Nigeria’s vast and diverse geography, revolutionising the agricultural industry and empowering farmers via the inventive use of technology. The media has generally ignored the agritech revolution, despite its extraordinary advances in enhancing farming techniques, yields, and economic success.Â
Nigeria, dubbed the “Giant of Africa,” has a population of more than 200 million people. Agriculture is critical to the nation’s economy, employing millions of people and contributing significantly to gross domestic product (GDP). Traditional farming practices, on the other hand, have struggled to keep up with the rapidly growing population and rising food demands. This is where experts believe agritech can make a difference.
Tech innovations driving agritech revolution
Mobile applications and platforms: These applications enable farmers access to critical information such as weather forecasts, crop management strategies, market prices, and even financial services. This information enables them to make informed decisions, utilise resources, and increase productivity with the help of these user-friendly technologies.
IoT and sensor technologies: The Internet of Things and sensor technologies have transformed farming methods by allowing farmers to monitor moisture levels, nutrient content, and pest infestations in real time. This enables precision agriculture, in which farmers may apply resources more efficiently, eliminate waste, and maximise harvests.
Drones with cameras, remote sensing technologies: These have made their way into Nigeria’s agricultural environment. These airborne vehicles can quickly survey huge farmlands, taking high-resolution photos that aid farmers in detecting crop diseases, assessing plant health, and determining irrigation requirements. Drones also make tailored fertiliser and pesticide applications possible, lowering costs and environmental effect.
Greenhouse farming: Often known as green house agriculture, it is an important agritech breakthrough that has transformed crop cultivation. It is cultivating plants within an enclosed structure, often constructed of transparent materials like glass or plastic, that permits management of numerous environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, light, and ventilation.
By providing a consistent and ideal climate for plants, this innovation enables farmers to grow year-round cultivation. They shield crops from harsh weather, seasonal changes, and extreme temperatures, allowing farmers to lengthen growing seasons and produce crops even during off-seasons.Â
Cooling systems: Cooling system developments have the potential to change agricultural development by reducing post-harvest losses, extending product shelf life, facilitating market diversification, and improving food safety. Investing in cooling technologies in underdeveloped nations can boost agricultural output, income, and sustainability.
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Information access: Through agritech revolution, farmers can get access to information through mobile apps, SMS services, and online platforms that can help you learn about optimal agricultural practices, crop selection, pest management, and market trends. Agritech enables farmers to make informed decisions, manage risks, and optimise their resources by providing them with information.
Financial inclusion: By driving financial inclusion, farmers can access loans, insurance, and savings products suited to their specific needs thanks to the integration of digital payment systems and mobile banking services. This financial inclusion opens new chances for growth, enables farmers to invest in modern farming equipment, and strengthens their resilience in the face of unexpected obstacles.
Access to market: Agritech platforms have helped farmers connect with markets. These systems eliminate intermediaries and assure fair prices for food by giving real-time market prices and linking farmers directly with purchasers. This has a significant influence on farmers’ livelihoods, increasing their revenue and decreasing post-harvest losses.
Players in Nigeria’s AgriTech ecosystem
ThriveAgric
ThriveAgric is an intriguing Agritech firm that provides financing to smallholder farmers but goes beyond that. The startup gives customers the best practices they need to develop their enterprises, including access to local and global marketplaces, putting food security first.Â
With over 400,000 farmers on board, ThriveAgric has facilitated the production and exchange of 800,000+ grains on more than 400,000 hectares of land. One noteworthy feature is that it has created over 9,000 jobs, contributing to easing Nigeria’s major unemployment problem. ThriveAgric has the agricultural sector covered, from production through financing, processing, and consumption.
Releaf
Releaf just raised a $3.3 million pre-Series A financing to strengthen its position as one of the leading Agritech firms in its target field. Releaf has developed cutting-edge technology, notably Kraken, to address Nigeria’s agricultural challenges. The startup is constantly looking for ways to improve these technologies. Releaf also gives capital to farmers and food factories, assisting them in purchasing necessary tools and ensuring the smooth operation of their day-to-day activities.
Agricorp
Agricorp is primarily concerned with spice production and exportation, with healthy ginger being a primary priority. Following its success over the years, which included a 400% capacity increase in just three years, the firm expanded its emphasis to encompass poultry production, processing, and distribution.
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Its semi-mechanized processing facility in Kaduna can process approximately 5,000MT of ginger per year. The startup employs a big number of people from all socioeconomic backgrounds and assists farmers financially and in other ways.
Its 0.5MT/hour integrated spices processing machine is utilised to produce clean fresh ginger, dried ginger, ginger powder, dehydrated garlic powder, chilli powder, dehydrated onion powder, and lime powder on a medium scale.
Vendease
This solution eliminates supply chain hurdles between food businesses such as restaurants and farmers/manufacturers. Customers can place orders through the startup’s platform, and all available suppliers are displayed. The order is assigned to the provider with the greatest pricing and quality, with delivery within 24 hours, by the system. The advantage is that all supplies may be obtained from a single source. Vendease has constructed a succession of stacks to deliver improved services, including transportation, storage, payments, inventory management, and embedded finance. Users can purchase now and pay within 14 days.
Hello Tractor
Hello Tractor connects tractor owners with smallholder farmers, generating cash for the owners and allowing farmers to carry out related activities more effectively, resulting in increased crop yield. The firm also ensures remote tracking and control of the tractor fleet, with reservations managed using mobile and web applications. The business also assists users in obtaining unique pay-as-you-go financing, allowing them to expand their own fleet.Â
Farmcrowdy
Farmcrowdy enables essential actors in the food value chain to maximise productivity and produce “untapped profits” while also providing more efficient food distribution channels. Farmcrowdy also makes life easier for farmers by giving funds for growth, which is a key challenge in the business.
FC Shops, a tech-enabled B2B retail platform, assists small merchants in sourcing inventory by providing access to a large range of FMCG goods at wholesale pricing, while FC Foods is a one-stop digital marketplace for trading raw agro-products, inputs, and commodities.
