Agriculture
How technology is aiding some of Africa’s largest agricultural producers

In the latest episode of Inside Africa, CNN International explores the future of agriculture and how agricultural technology – agritech – is supporting the industry.
Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa establishes the importance of the agritech sector and the continent’s role in it, “We have the potential. Now we need to get to the stage where to say, ‘Let’s realise the potential.’ And I mean, if you think about it in a global space, there is generally an increasing interest in agricultural technology and also in the food sector at large, which means that capital could be available to unlock that potential.”
With limited income and access to credit, machinery tends to be too expensive for small-scale farmers to buy. Folu Okunade is the co-founder and COO of Hello Tractor, a way for farmers in Kenya to rent existing equipment and use it more efficiently. He explains, “We have IOT [Internet of Things] enabled web and mobile platforms that connect farmers with mechanisation service providers or tractor owners. The tractor comes to them, does the work. They now don’t have to own a tractor outright because it doesn’t make sense for them to, if they just own a small piece of land, they’re never going to be able to pay back that tractor.”
Farmer and tractor owner Nashon Ngetich speaks about why the service is useful for owners as well as renters, “I’m able to rent it out to my neighbouring farmers, move around with it around the country and I can make some small amount of money from it as well as pay for it, pay the operator. The opportunity with it is we can plan ourselves easily. When the season kicks in I can plan for it.”
Looking to the future, Okunade hopes to expand beyond just tractors. He tells CNN, “Mechanisation is beyond just ploughing or land preparation, it goes to things like planting, or spreading fertiliser, or spraying, or planting, or harvesting. So, we really see this progression now that we have the customer, how do we move them to a highly engaged customer who’s doing three and more services with us per season.”
Africa is the fastest growing continent and the UN estimates that the population of Sub-Saharan Africa will nearly double by 2050. Improving crop yields is key for feeding this future. Okunade says, “There’s a ton of potential. I don’t think anybody knows the ceiling when it comes to working with smallholder farmers and really solving this food security challenge. So, it’s the challenge that drives me, but it’s also knowing that there’s a huge potential out there.”
Also in Kenya, Inside Africa sees how a mobile app for cow management is transforming milk production. Around 3.8 billion litres of milk are produced in Kenya every year, mostly by small farms. Peninah Wanja, Founder of DigiCow Africa describes where dairy farmers lose money, “One of the key challenges that faces the small holder dairy farmers is low milk production, where farmers get an average of 10 litres per cow per day. Against the potential of 30 litres per cow per day, the same cow. And this challenge is brought in by farmers not keeping records.”
As well as keeping records on milk production, DigiCow can store information on vaccinations, deworming, and artificial insemination. The app sends automatic alerts when a cow is due treatment and can dispatch a vet as necessary. Dairy farmer Murimi Wamabi talks about how the app has helped, “My core business being breeding, they’ve really assisted me in breeding in the sense of keeping my records. And since I’m a busy guy, honestly, when you have somebody who can update, he tells you today, check on heat on this particular animal, this one is due on this date so you should dry it. So, all that information is actually at the tip of my finger.”
DigiCow has already expanded to cover more than just cattle. Wanja says, “We started with a dairy farmer in mind. But out of demand from the farmers we have been able to expand to other value chains. And we are now working with sheep, goat, beef in crops, in potatoes, and also rice. In total, we are working with over 300,000 farmers.”
In Côte d’Ivoire, drones are being used to aid agriculture and increase productivity. They allow farmers to remotely monitor crops and use sophisticated sensors to assess soil quality and detect crop disease. Co-founder of drone maker JooL International Joseph-Olivier Biley describes the company, “JooL was born out of a personal problem my family was having. We have this plantation three to four hours away and my father who is very busy didn’t have time to go there regularly. JooL was born to allow people like my father, agricultural investors, to be able to protect and grow their investments remotely while carrying out their day jobs.”
Drone usage is increasing in Africa, particularly in the medical space, but many are imported from China for affordability and ease. Biley says JooL intends to keep making its own hardware locally, “We are only able to produce small quantities. We need to be able to find the means to expand our production line, by setting up a factory to be able to produce in larger quantities locally, to save costs, to create jobs and to be able to satisfy the whole continent.”
Biley and his team have also set up an academy to train drone pilots. Lanciné Doumouya, Co-founder & VP at JooL Academy speaks about the project, “The academy allows us to train professionals in the agricultural field. To give them an added value in their field of agronomy, in their daily agronomic activity. And also people who have nothing to do with agriculture, who want to improve or learn the drone business and be able to create a source of income. So it’s really aimed at everybody.”
Finally, the show visits Uganda where technology is aiding an urban development project.
‘Inside Africa’ airs on Sunday 30th July 2023 at 12:30 SAST on CNN International.
Credit: CNN’s Inside Africa
Agriculture
Agricultural Productivity: Nirsal Plc Empowers Over 2,000 Farmers In 4 States

August 7, 2024, Owerri – NIRSAL Plc has completed a midyear training programme for lead farmers and extension agents in the Aquaculture and Cassava value chains across locations in Imo, Sokoto, Kwara, and Oyo States. The programme, aimed at boosting farmers’ capacities to access and repay commercial loans, had over 2,000 participants, with state government representatives also in attendance.
As it continues to promote the Agro Geo-Cooperative® approach to primary production, NIRSAL primarily targets lead farmers with the experience and skill to share new knowledge with members of their various cooperatives for its training programmes.

In Imo State, where no less than 500 participants assembled in two locations—one urban and one rural, the focus was on efficient models for fish production. It was the same in Sokoto State, while the Oyo and Kwara outings focused on cassava.
Mr. Uche Agabige, Imo State House Committee Chairman on Agriculture, lauded NIRSAL for including Imo in this round of the capacity building programme, with the belief that it would complement local efforts aimed at boosting agricultural productivity in the state.

Head of Value Chain Capacity Development at NIRSAL Plc, Mr. Ibrahim Suleiman, said that the capacity development programme, which is part of the Technical Assistance offered by NIRSAL to agricultural value chain actors under its Technical Assistance pillar, was happening simultaneously in three other states spanning four Geo-political zones.
According to Mr. Suleiman, lead farmers and extension agents in aquaculture and cassava were similarly gathered at two urban and rural locations in Sokoto, Oyo, and Kwara States, and they are expected to cascade the training to an estimated 6,000 farmers across the states.
The NIRSAL teams received warm reception and commendations in locations, including from the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Akinyele Local Government Chairman in Oyo State, and the Special Adviser to the Kwara State Governor on Farmers’ Interventions, among others.
In addition to the formation of functional cooperatives with proper governance structures, the training programme also discussed readiness for possible protocol breaches and early warning systems. Participants who spoke after the lectures said that they were delighted at the new insights they gained, pledging to share same with members of their various cooperatives.
NIRSAL Plc is an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) established to de-risk agriculture and agribusiness financing in Nigeria, with a view to stimulating the flow of finance and investment into the Agricultural Value Chain from multiple sources. Logic for the Imo training exercise is provided by one of the five pillars of NIRSAL—Technical Assistance, under which value chain fixing initiatives are researched, developed, and promoted.
Agriculture
Gov Abdulrazaq inspects youth farm, says food security a priority

- Govt cultivating over 3,000 hectares for soya bean
- Govt giving seedlings, fertilisers, other inputs to 10,000 farmers
Food security remains a top priority for the Kwara government as billions of naira are invested in different agricultural initiatives this year, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq said on Wednesday.
Abdulrazaq spoke at the government-enabled Kwara Youth Farm in Malete, Moro local government, where at least 1,500 hectares of land are being cultivated for soya bean production this farming season, while over 1,500 hectares more are to be farmed in the coming seasons.
The Governor was taken round the huge farm by Arowojobe Tolulope, the project manager, and Ibrahim Tunji Mukaila, the farm manager at the Malete Youth Farm.

“Apart from many other initiatives, this is to deepen our resolve on food security. I am here to see things for myself and to make sure that the right investments are put in place. I am on site to see that our investment programmes (in agric) are being implemented, and to see the challenges we are facing,” he told reporters on the sideline of the visit.
“I’m impressed with what I’ve seen; it’s very good. We need to do more, and we will continue to do more. This will lead us to a bumper harvest at the end of the season and prepare us for the dry season farming, during which we will certainly escalate things.”
The Governor’s tour of the Malete Farm comes as the administration escalates its support for farmers across the state.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is currently distributing seedlings, fertilisers, and other farm inputs to at least 10,000 farmers.
Recently, the state executive council approved N2.9bn worth of support for farmers — a few weeks after the Governor on June 26 launched the distribution of the fourth phase of agricultural and infrastructural assets under the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme, targeting over 600,000 beneficiaries across different categories in the 16 local government areas.
Agriculture
Kwara Govt To Flag-off Distribution of Farm Inputs To Rice, Maize Farmers

•Agric Ministry Commences Verification of Farmers’ Data
All is set for the official flag-off and distribution of farm inputs to rice and maize farmers across the 16 Local Government Areas of the State.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Oloruntoyosi Thomas gave this indication during a working visit to some of the farm cluster groups in Edu Local Government Area.
Mrs. Thomas re-emphasized the state government’s determination to consistently work with the real farmers in its efforts to be self-sufficient in food production in order to expand the revenue generation capacity of the State.

The Commissioner, who was in the company of Officers of the Ministry and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Harvest Value Chain, Mr. Charles Adetola disclosed further that the team was in the state on a verification mission of the captured farmers for the 2024 wet season farming.
“The present government is intentional about working with real farmers only, we are back again to verify the farmers that have been captured in the list, we have our partner from Harvest Value Chain Limited, they are private sector and are on the field to verify farmers’ details with a view to providing meaningful intervention to our farmers”, She explained.
In his remarks, the CEO, Harvest Value Chain Limited, Mr. Charles Adetola appreciated the state government for the opportunity given to his company, adding that the process would give equal opportunity to the targeted beneficiaries.
Explaining the process further, Adetola said they started the process by ensuring collection of data base of all farmers which includes, Names, BVN, and Phone Numbers, pointing out that what is being done now is a follow up on the verification process by tagging each farmer to their farm land.
Also speaking on behalf of the farmers in Yelwa village, Tsaragi Ward II, Mrs. Aminat Mahmud expressed appreciation to the state government for the opportunity extended to the real farmers.
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