Technology supports smallholder rice and wheat farmers

A new platform is helping rice farmers in Nigeria to mechanise their production and aggregate their sales

Spotted: Rice is a major staple food in Nigeria. Yet, Nigeria’s rice farming, harvesting, and processing systems are highly inefficient. Mechanisation rates in the sector are very low and the country’s yield per hectare is just two tonnes, which is around half the average rate in Asia.

With around 90 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty, finding a way to make rice more affordable would go a long way in helping Nigerians lead better lives. It is this problem that entrepreneur Ibrahim Maigari Ahmadu set out to solve when he started Rice Afrika Technologies in 2020.

Rice Afrika Technologies is developing an integrated approach to improving rice production in Nigeria and Tanzania. It provides eco-friendly combine harvesters, along with training, to help rice farmers mechanise their farming operations. It also supplies high-yield seeds, quality pesticides, and affordable fertilisers.

The company has also developed a mid-stream mobile platform, called FarmEasy, that links farming communities with buyers and service providers. The platform relies on a network of agents embedded in smallholder farming communities who match aggregated demand from farmers with small and medium agricultural dealers.

The company closed its latest Grant funding round in February 2023, raising $150,000 (around €138,000) to further develop and extend its provision.

Rice Afrika is not the only company working to improve the efficiency of small farmers. Springwise has also recently spotted an insurance product that can pay out automatically in the event of a flood or drought and an app that helps smallholders improve their efficiency.

Written By: Lisa Magloff