Emma Okonji
Farmcrowdy.com, Nigeria’s first digital agriculture platform, has been launched to offer new ways for Nigerians to participate in agriculture, using online technology.
Speaking at the launch in Lagos recently, the Co-founder and CEO of Farmcrowdy.com, Onyeka Akumah, said by partnering Farmcrowdy to own a minimum farm space, it is now possible for Nigerians across the world to commit an agreed sum to starting and completing a farming cycle. In doing so, the farm partner is able to sponsor a farmer in one farming cycle thereby empowering the farmer, expanding their farm operations, participating in the drive to end food scarcity and making use of 50 million hectares of arable farm land in Nigeria that is currently under-utilised according to the World Bank.
The Farmcrowdy.com platform allows farms partners to sponsor any farm of their choice including maize farms, poultry farms (broiler), cassava farms and tomato farms. The farm partners then gets bi-weekly updates about their farm progress including pictures and videos from the farmers. Also, farm partners can visit their farms if they wish to at any point in time to learn about the farmer they have partnered with and the farm products they are working on.
According to Akumah, the company has acquired over 1,000 hectares of farmland in the South-eestern part of Nigeria especially in Oyo and Ogun states as it launches the initiative.
“With one farmer working on one hectare per season, this means that we have provided a platform to engage a minimum of 1,000 farmers with Farmcrowdy. Our goal is to secure 10,000 hectares around the eastern parts of Nigeria and the Lakaji Corridor in other to make use of dams and irrigation facilities in these areas,” Akumah said.
He further explained that the launch of Farmcrowdy’s website and platform was brought forth out of a need to engage Nigerians especially youths in agriculture, empower small-scale farmers and increase food production to keep up with the growing Nigerian population.
“According to a UN research, crop yields need to double within 40 years in order to keep up with the world population growth. For this to happen, it is important to create an efficient farming industry that operates on a large scale so that our food can be saved and our economy can rapidly progress. This revelation has prompted Farmcrowdy to join the farming industry through its Agric-Tech Start-up which makes use of technology to execute agriculture,” Akumah said.
Farmcrowdy boast of an experienced team including its second Co-Founder and COO, Mr. Africanfarmer Mogaji, who has over 19 years of experience both in the livestock and crop production industry within and outside Nigeria. Described by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a‘Champion for Change’, Africanfarmer Mogaji before Farmcrowdy, was the CEO of X-Ray Farms Consulting – a new generation agricultural expert, coach and consultant.
Operating in Agric-tech space, Farmcrowdy is here to bring the best out of the resources available in Nigeria so that Nigeria can increase the production of agricultural raw materials to meet the growth of an expanding industrial sector, reduce poverty and unemployment, offer returns on investment for farm owners and farm partners while proffering a win-win solution for everyone.
