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About this practice
The provision of agricultural extension services in Nigeria has lagged since the 1980s, due to challenges such as dwindling national budgets, reduced support from development partners, logistical challenges and insecurity in some parts of the country. Consequently, Nigeria has a ratio of 1: 5000+ of extension workers to rural farmers, far below the recommended FAO ratio of 1:800.
In partnership with the Propcom Maikarfi project, Farm Innovation Nigeria Ltd is leveraging mobile technologies combined with a dedicated call centre to deliver Digital Agricultural Extension & Advisory Services (DAEAS) to smallholder farmers including women and persons living with disabilities in Northeastern Nigeria. This is expected to bridge the inclusion gap, provide access to continuous and timely information on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), and improve yields and incomes for farmers.
Entry point
What was/were the main shock(s) that triggered this practice? What was the entry point for the implementation of the practice?
- The FAO recommends a ratio of 1:800 of extension workers to rural farmers, but in Nigeria the ratio is 1: 5000+. The use of technology in providing agricultural extension services to disadvantaged smallholder farmers is expected to bridge the inclusion gap, provide access to continuous and timely information on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), and expected to improve yields and incomes for farmers.
- Through a DFID funded pilot delivered in partnership with PropcomMaikarfi, Farm Innovation Nigeria Ltd is leveraging mobile technologies combined with a dedicated call centre to deliver Digital Agricultural Extension & Advisory Services (DAEAS) to smallholder farmers including women and persons living with disabilities in Northeastern Nigeria.
Impact
What are the main social, economic, political impacts?
- A technology based solution that leveraged mobile technology to deliver extension services to farmers across for value chains: rice, tomato, groundnuts and sorghum.
- FarmAid has resulted in over 30,000 farmers registered and onboarded on FarmAid, with over 10,000 call engagements recorded so far.
- 90 market system actors have signed up on the platform, and are being connected with strategic partners.
Main lesson learned summary
What is the main lesson learned about this good practice?
- Key stakeholders cutting across public, private and development sector as well as market actors recognise that e-extension (digitized agric extension and advisory services) is critical to sustainable agric extension delivery in Nigeria.
- There are gaps in technological capacity of key service providers supporting the deployment of technical components of digitized platforms/products.
- Institutional bureaucracy (bottlenecks) of key agencies in the communications sector impede the development and effective deployment of communications channels integrated into digital extension products.
- The FarmAid solution has the potential to facilitate increased inclusion and participation of women’s access to agricultural extension information.
- The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major constraint in the on-site recruitment and on-boarding of farmers as well as stalled business operations, however, it provides an opportunity to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of the product.
Chinwe Owhorji-Arowolo
Chinwe Owhorji-Arowolo comes with over 6 years of experience in the design and implantation of entrepreneurship programs. Her work spans across the private, and non-profits sector. She is the CEO of Farm Innovation Nigeria Ltd – a Nigerian Agtech company that leverages technology to help farmers improve their processes, increase their yield and subsequently their income. She previously held the position of Entrepreneurship Manager for TechnoServe Nigeria, on the Citi Foundation-funded Pan African Youth Entrepreneurship Program. Ms. Arowolo holds a Masters degree in Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship from Kingston University, London. She is a Certified Business Consultant and a 2019 Chevening Alumuna.
