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Agrovesto is an agritech company that is helping smallholder farmers by offering them access to digital tools and tech driven agric extension services. Its aim is to help local farmers minimise post-harvest losses, access financial support, connect to profitable local and global markets and boost productivity. Its digital platform serves as a common platform for farmers, cooperatives, organisations, financial institutions, development partners, and government agencies. Additionally, it provides real-time agronomic advisory and climate-smart alerts, ensuring transparent input distribution and efficient supply chain management.
The company was established to help farmers and other Agribusinesses sell agricultural produce both locally and internationally.
Bayo Adewoye, CEO of Agrovesto, recently interviewed with Techpolyp, sharing information about the company’s services, offerings, future goals, and how it navigates the challenging startup landscape in Nigeria. Agrovesto, a graduate of the iHatch incubation program, recorded significant successes last year. It emerged as one of the 20 finalists in the MTN Cloud Accelerator Program, clinching a seed fund of 5 million naira.
Digitising Agriculture for Nigerian Farmers
Bayo Adewoye, representing Agrovesto, discussed the company’s role in digitising agricultural processes for small farmers in Nigeria. He explained that Agrovesto uses existing technology to simplify farming operations, provide market access, and enable farmers to connect with processors and financiers, all while functioning offline.
Image source: Instagram profile of Bayo Adewoye
Bayo highlighted that their platform reduces post-harvest losses by 80%, addressing the issue of food waste in Nigeria. The discussion also highlighted the need for increased adoption of modern agricultural technology in Nigeria to enhance farming practices.
NomaOS Agrovesto’s Agricultural Tech Platform
Bayo explained that Agrovesto, a tech company focused on the agricultural sector, uses the NomaOS platform to connect stakeholders in the value chain and provide farmers with access to services such as insurance, finance, and market linkages.
He clarified that Agrovesto does not provide these services directly but acts as a platform for third-party providers. Bayo highlighted the challenges of low digital literacy and limited access to technology among small-scale farmers in Nigeria. Agrovesto addresses this problem through agent networks and simplified technology solutions. He also discussed the company’s efforts in farm mapping, pre-planting, and post-harvest data tracking to improve data collection for farmers, which helps them in accessing loans and other facilities.
Bayo emphasised that Agrovesto’s success is driven by its focus on simplicity and practicality for farmers. Also, he expressed optimism about the potential of the NumaOS platform to disrupt the agricultural tech space in Nigeria.
Causes of Slow Adoption of Modern Technology in Agriculture in Nigeria
A 2024 food security statistics reveal that 79% of Nigerians live in one form of food insecurity crisis or the other, of which 20% are plunged into severe food insecurity and 59% wallow in moderate food insecurity.
This is because, although Nigeria has a rich agricultural potential that remains largely unexploited, with 77% of the country’s land mass being arable. Evidence shows that Nigeria’s agricultural sector is predominantly smallholder farming, with over 80% of farmers falling under this category. Smallholders produce 90% of the local stable foods. Most Nigerian farmers lag in using technologies. For example, only 1% of all farming households own tractors, and more than 70% of farmers depend on outdated tools.
Asked what he thinks is are the causes of the slow adoption of modern agric-technology in Nigeria, Bayo highlighted the following reasons:
- Many farmers have not used modern information communication technology (ICT) in their agricultural activities because of rising urban migration by young people, leaving an ageing rural population where most of the farming takes place.
- Insecurity in many parts of the country discourages high-profile investors from investing in the country’s agriculture.
- Power shortages and blackouts often cause hindrance in using technologies which run on power.
- Poor maintenance culture in Nigeria often leads to the short lifespan of sophisticated agricultural equipment in the hands of local farmers
All of these factors contribute to Nigeria’s agricultural growth being below the level required to reduce poverty and food insecurity.
Bridging the Gap with Tech-Driven Agric Extension
Nigeria’s agricultural sector plays a crucial role in the economy. It employs not less than 70% of the labour force and contributes to improving food security. However, the agricultural sector is also hindered by insufficient agricultural extension programs.
Agrovesto is leveraging AI to provide farmers with access to agricultural knowledge, advisory services, and precision farming tools. It has offered several training programs where participants can gain knowledge of agricultural extension and advisory services. Also, they receive support through helpful information, and brokering of deals with investors. This is a critical aspect that establishes mutually beneficial interactions between farmers in rural areas and investors. This helps them to learn, adapt, and innovate with new technologies and practices.
Extension services also help smallholder farmers adapt to and mitigate climate change, conserve biodiversity, and protect the environment. Additionally, it empowers them to be able to produce enough food to feed their families and contribute to the well-being of their country. Overall, these services empower farmers and rural producers to adapt to the evolving agricultural landscape.
