We are architecting a self-sustaining digital ecosystem for Nigeria’s farmers

The Challenge: Breaking the Cycle of Grant Dependency

Agriculture is the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, contributing approximately 22% to the GDP. Yet, the system connecting the nation’s millions of smallholder producers (SSPs) to vital information and markets is fragmented.

For decades, interventions to bridge this gap have followed a predictable, often fatal cycle: they are launched with donor grants, flourish temporarily, and collapse once funding evaporates. The challenge is not merely to build another app, but to engineer a financial framework that could survive market realities. The goal is audacious: to design a Digital Agricultural Extension Service (DAES) capable of scaling to reach 80% of Nigeria’s smallholder farmers—not as a charity project, but as a viable economic engine.

The Strategy: An Alliance of “Unlikely Allies”

The project’s most significant breakthrough lies in its ability to convene a “coalition of the willing” composed of stakeholders who typically operate in silos or direct competition.

To create a unified national system, the project brought together:

The Regulator: The Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security (FMAFS), moving from a role of sole provider to “enabler.”

The Competitors: Major agribusiness giants. These market rivals aligned on a shared necessity: a reliable, data-rich ecosystem to reach the last mile.

The Enablers: Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and technology providers, integrated as strategic revenue partners rather than just vendors.

This alignment transforms agricultural extension from a public burden into a shared investment opportunity, where competitors cooperate on infrastructure to compete on products.

The Innovation: A Two-Sided Marketplace

Moving beyond the traditional “push” model of extension services, the project designed a two-sided platform where value flows in both directions, ensuring financial viability.

1. Business-to-Farmer (B2F): The Value of Trust

For the farmer, the platform acts as a digital companion supported by human extension workers. It offers:

Precision Advisory: Timely, crop-specific guidance synced with the farming season.

Input Access: Direct links to purchase seeds and fertilisers (often on credit).

Market Linkage: A clear pathway to sell harvest yields to aggregators.

2. Business-to-Business (B2B): The Engine of Sustainability

For the private sector, the platform is an enterprise solution. Agribusinesses incentivise the system by paying for:

Data Intelligence: Aggregated insights into farmer demographics and production cycles.

Market Expansion: Access to previously unreachable rural customer segments.

Performance Tracking: Tools to monitor extension worker activity and product distribution.

Envisioned Impact: Self-Sustaining at Scale

The proposed “Marketplace Freemium” and “Bundled Services” models represent a shift from aid to trade.

Unprecedented Investment: By monetising data and market access for the private sector, the system generates independent revenue streams. This ensures the platform can maintain operations and expand without perpetual reliance on government subsidies or external aid.

Scale: With the financial burden shared by private sector actors who profit from the system, the project is uniquely positioned to scale cost-effectively, aiming to bring 80% of Nigeria’s SSPs into the formal economy.

Conclusion

This case study illustrates a paradigm shift in African agricultural development. By architecting a system where unlikely allies—regulators and rivals—collaborate on a shared digital infrastructure, Nigeria is poised to unlock self-sustaining growth that outlasts any single grant cycle.