Nigeria can earn significantly more from its

 agricultural resources by expanding local processing and retaining greater value from commodities before they reach international markets, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has said.

The IFC made the assertion as it strengthened its collaboration with Johnvents Group to accelerate agricultural value addition in Nigeria, with emphasis on local processing, sustainable supply chains, infrastructure, technology, regional trade and access to global markets.

The engagement is aimed at strengthening the link between agricultural production and industrial processing, creating opportunities for more value from African commodities to be created and retained locally while improving the competitiveness of Nigerian products in international markets.

Speaking during the engagement, Olivier Buyoya, IFC Division Director for Nigeria and Central Africa, described Johnvents as an example of how private-sector investment could translate Nigeria’s agricultural transformation agenda into tangible results.

“Johnvents Group shows how that agenda can translate into results: a reliable buyer connecting smallholders to markets, a processor expanding domestic value addition, and a Nigerian company investing in higher standards and long-term sustainability,” Buyoya said.

He also described Johnvents’ inaugural 2025 Sustainability Report, presented during the engagement, as “more than a corporate publication,” noting that it contributed to the broader ambitions of IFC’s AgriConnect initiative.

Prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the report details the group’s environmental, social and governance performance across its agricultural value chains, with emphasis on traceability, deforestation-free sourcing, climate governance, responsible sourcing, farmer capacity building and child labour prevention.

According to the report, Johnvents reached 40,000 farmers through structured capacity-building programmes during the reporting period, while 122,916 hectares of land were verified as deforestation-free, reflecting the group’s efforts to promote responsible and sustainable agricultural production.

Johnvents, which began as a cocoa-focused

 business, has since expanded into a diversified agribusiness and food manufacturing group with operations spanning cocoa, soybean, cashew, fast-moving consumer goods and other agricultural value chains.

Speaking on the company’s growth, the Founder and Group Managing Director of Johnvents Group, John Alamu, said the group currently operates 10 factories in Nigeria, has operations across 19 countries and maintains relationships with more than 40,000 farmers.

Alamu said the company’s integrated model, which spans agricultural sourcing, processing, manufacturing and international distribution, was designed to deepen local value creation while positioning African products for stronger competition in global markets.

He added that Johnvents’ sustainability journey had been strengthened by its ongoing collaboration with the IFC, including technical assistance in governance, environmental and social performance, institutional capacity, farmer training and traceability.

Through the collaboration, Johnvents is seeking to further connect agricultural production with processing and value-added manufacturing, with the broader objective of ensuring that more of the economic benefits generated from Africa’s agricultural resources are retained within the continent while opening greater access to regional and international markets.

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The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, says the prices of essential food commodities have reduced by up to 50 per cent across the country.

The Minister disclosed this on Monday in Maiduguri while declaring open the Community of Practice Meeting of Commissioners for Agriculture, Health, Environment and Rural Development in Borno State.

The meeting was organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with the Borno State Government and supported by Germany under the theme, “Stronger Partnerships for a Food Secure Nigeria”.

Addressing participants, Kyari said President Bola Tinubu had placed food security at the centre of the national ag

He said, “Our responsibility is to translate that mandate into increased production, greater affordability, stronger rural economies and a more resilient food system.

“We have seen the reduction of up to 50 percent in prices of some essential food commodities, alongside expanded input delivery, investment in rural Infrastructure and support to smallholder farmers he said.

Kyari emphasised that the prices of Items have significantly dropped when compared to what they were prior to 2023.

“Let’s be honest, how much was a bag of rice and maize in 2023, and how much is it now? What is the percentage? Let us not play politics with these things,” he added.

The Minister however noted that the summit will take into account  the  Kampala  Comprehensive, African, Development Program Declaration and its Strategy and Action Plan for 2026–2035.

“The Kampala framework takes a broader agrifood systems approach, with priorities spanning sustainable production, investment and finance, food and nutrition security, trade, inclusion, resilience and stronger governance,” Kyari said.

“For a country of Nigeria’s scale, the choices we make in agriculture have consequences beyond our borders, for regional markets, Africa’s wider agrifood transformation and Nigeria’s place in the global food economy.

“Nigeria has developed and validated a 10-Year National Agrifood System Strategy and Action Plan as the vehicle for domesticating these commitments,” he noted.

He emphasized that the summit provides an important sub-national mechanism for taking that declaration into implementation.

“I therefore urge our deliberations here in Borno to focus firmly on implementation. States should leave this meeting clearer on how their action plans will advance the Kampala commitments and align with national priorities across rural infrastructure, extension, credit and quality inputs, labour-saving technologies, post-harvest loss reduction and climate-resilient agriculture,” he said.

Speaking earlier, the Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Nigeria, Dr Karin Jansen, assured that Germany will continue to support  Nigeria through strengthening of agricultural policy processes, scaling successful approaches and strengthening civil society participation.

“Through the Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies project – AgSys, German Development Cooperation supports Nigerian partners in strengthening agricultural policy processes, scaling successful approaches and strengthening civil society participation.

“Our aim is simple: to strengthen existing structures and help turn national commitments into action where it matters most. Ultimately, the success of the Kampala Agenda will be measured by the results it delivers: better policies, stronger institutions, effective investments and tangible improvements in people’s lives,” she stressed.

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The commitment was made on Thursday, September 17, 2026, when the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Kingdom of Spain, Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, paid a visit to Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas Puchades, at the Palacio de Fomento in Madrid.

Both nations emphasized collaboration in key areas, including technology transfer, improved seedling production, livestock development, irrigation, and food preservation.

Minister Planas welcomed Ambassador Ikpeazu on his appointment as Nigeria’s principal envoy to Spain.

He expressed confidence that the ambassador’s tenure would further consolidate the cordial relations between both countries, particularly in agriculture, where he identified vital opportunities for partnership in agro-food production, animal health, and irrigation.

Planas highlighted Spain’s advancements in agricultural technology—including crop disease prevention and the development of improved, high-yielding seedlings—which have driven the expansion of large-scale agro-food and livestock production.

He noted that Nigeria’s extensive agricultural potential, anchored by arable land covering more than 40 percent of its total territory, offers significant opportunities to boost food production and develop agricultural value chains.

According to the minister, Spain’s ability to produce more food than it imports has been backed by superior seed varieties, strategic food preservation policies, and modern consumption models.

He added that innovative technologies helped Spain achieve a 20 percent reduction in food loss in 2025, with further preventive measures currently being implemented.

In response, Ambassador Ikpeazu expressed appreciation for the warm reception and the opportunity to discuss mutual priorities to deepen bilateral ties. He stated that expanding agricultural production remains a top priority for the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, especially given Nigeria’s large youth population and the economic opportunities within the agricultural value chain.

He emphasized that fully harnessing Nigeria’s agricultural potential would enhance food security, generate employment, and help address the root causes of irregular migration across Africa. Ikpeazu commended Spain’s achievements in seedling innovation, livestock development, and food preservation, affirming Nigeria’s readiness to partner with Spanish institutions and private-sector investors to boost productivity and curb post-harvest losses caused by inadequate storage and transport infrastructure.

Citing GB Foods’ operations in Kebbi and Ogun States as a prime example of successful Spanish investment in Nigeria, the ambassador noted that the company’s introduction of improved seedlings had dramatically increased tomato yields from approximately 10 tonnes to over 60 tonnes per hectare.

Ambassador Ikpeazu concluded by underscoring Nigeria’s goal to develop its animal production sector to meet domestic demand and unlock export potential, reiterating Nigeria’s desire to build strong partnerships with Spain in livestock development and related areas.

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The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has said food production has increased under the President Bola Tinubu administration, but gaps in processing and distribution continue to keep food prices high.

Kyari said the government had made considerable progress in food production, with farm-gate prices falling, but consumers were yet to fully benefit because of challenges between the point of production and the market.

The minister disclosed this in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday while responding to concerns over the slow impact of the government’s agricultural reforms on food prices.

“Let’s go down memory lane and think about the figures in 2023 and 2024. When you look at those and compare them with what the reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration have done, we are on the right track,” Kyari said.

He said government data showed that while production costs at the farm gate had declined, agro-processing remained a challenge.

“However, even if you look at the NBS figures, you would see that agro-processing has not come down, but production has come down. Which means at the farm gate, prices have come down considerably.

“So, these are other gaps that need to be looked at. But we have tackled the production of food, and we have seen considerable success in that regard,” the minister said.

Kyari attributed Nigeria’s continued dependence on food imports to population growth, low agricultural productivity, limited access to land and the cost of farm inputs and production.

“Due to certain factors, we’ve not been able to catch up in terms of the growth of population. We are growing on average about 8 to 9 million people every year. 25 years ago, we were half of what we are today, and 25 years from now, we will be double what we are. Of course, there are other factors: access to land, and productivity is still at a very low stage.

“To catch up with that, I think it’s something that we need to look at—the issue of productivity, having good quality seeds. This is what we’ve been trying to do; we’ve been able to at least impact a lot of farmers to give them subsidized inputs and subsidized seeds,” he said.

Government targets processed food imports

The minister said the government was seeking to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on processed food imports through mechanisation, local processing and the Special Agro-Processing Zones.

“I’m sure by the time you see the harvest of the wet season harvest figures, you will see a considerable reduction in food imports. When you look at food imports, it’s actually processed food that is on the rise in terms of the figures that we see, but farm produce is still coming down.

“That’s exactly what the government is trying to do. If you recall the ban on the export of raw items like shea nuts, and so also we’re looking at other areas and crops that we can reduce so that we add value. Also, we have the SAPZ (Special Agro-Processing Zones) that will come on stream before the end of next year, all eight of them, and we are even going into the second phase, the first tranche of about 10 states. What that seeks to do is production, aggregation, storage, processing, and marketing. So that SAPZ is also another mechanism of government that would help to reduce our dependence on processed food.”

Kyari also said improved security had enabled farmers to return to areas where they had previously been unable to cultivate their land.

“A lot of our farmlands that were hitherto not accessible in 2023 have now been accessed. In 2024, there was a massive bumper harvest, and in 2025, even more than 2024. We are waiting for the 2026 figures to come out. Which meant that there’s more access to farmland in areas that were under insecure conditions.

“So, there’s improvement in that regard. Obviously, government and the armed forces are doing a lot trying to liberate those farmlands that were hitherto under insecure areas,” the minister said.

Kyari said the 2026 agricultural production figures were expected between October and November.

“Usually after harvest. I believe the National Agricultural Extension Research Liaison Services—which is a collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and ABU, Zaria, located in Zaria—usually gives us figures at every end of the harvest of rain-fed agriculture. But we have also mandated them to give us figures at every cycle of harvest because we’re trying to encourage all-year-round farming.

“We are going to start doing that this year. So by October or November, we should be able to get those figures out, and also March for the first cycle of the dry season, and then June for the second cycle.”

2026 harvest

Kyari projected that the 2026 harvest would exceed the bumper harvest recorded in 2025, citing improved productivity, stabilised input prices and government interventions.

“Actually, much more than that of 2025. There are challenges in terms of input prices, but we’ve been able to—I mean, we all know that productivity has increased because even the loud noise is coming down; it’s no longer that issue that was there before in 2023 and 2024. Prices have come down and stabilized, and like I said, we’re trying to see how we can balance the welfare of the citizenry and that of the farmers. I know there was a lot of outcry last year, but the outcry in terms of inputs has quieted down.

“There were a lot of interventions from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Bank of Agriculture, and the National Agricultural Development Fund. The National Agricultural Development Fund issued out fertilizer at no cost to the farmer, while Bank of Agriculture has done a 50% subsidy.”

On mechanisation, Kyari said tractors supplied under the Nigerian Agricultural Mechanisation Policy had already been deployed to farms, with the government monitoring their performance.

“Yes, that’s right, farmer have access to the tractors. The tractors are on the field now, but of course, you won’t see a tractor now because it’s past land preparation. What we are tracking now is tractor performance. We want to see a tractor perform on at least 500 to 600 hectares per year.

“So even if you have a farm that is about 100 hectares, you must pass on those subsidies that you have to your neighbors so that a tractor is being tracked to do at least 500 to 600 hectares annually. That is productivity. So when we have 2,000 tractors, it means we’re looking at a million hectares easily for every year for land preparation,” he said.

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“At this time, there is no risk of people getting sick with cyclosporiasis from this source. The best-by dates for all product linked to this outbreak have passed and it is no longer available in stores or restaurants,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday.

The federal agency added that it had seen a significant decrease in recent infections linked to this flare-up. Before the recall of the relevant packaged lettuces, there were more than 1,000 infections that occurred in a single day at the peak of the outbreak. In August, there were fewer than two infections a day on average.

Between 1 May and 8 September, the CDC reported a total of 19,595 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis across the US, including 12,883 infections linked to contaminated lettuce. Cases were reported across 49 states and Washington DC. The median age of those infected was 46, with women accounting for 56% of cases and men accounting for 44%.

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Johnson Ebokpo, the commissioner for agriculture and irrigation development, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Calabar.

Mr Ebokpo said the Institute for Agricultural Research developed the improved variety, which has high genetic purity and resistance to major pod-borer pests.

According to him, SAMPEA 20-T offers early maturity, improved yield performance and reduced dependence on insecticide applications compared with conventional cowpea varieties.

“The intervention is aimed at increasing cowpea production, strengthening food security and improving access to nutritious food, especially among women and children,” he said.

He said the programme would also enhance farmers’ productivity and livelihoods through improved access to quality crop inputs.

The commissioner stated that the distribution would be conducted in collaboration with the state chapters of the Cowpea Farmers Association and Women in Agriculture.

He urged interested farmers to visit their respective local government councils for documentation and collection, stressing that the seeds were strictly for planting, not consumption.

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The Adamawa State Police Command disclosed this on Friday, less than a week after Bamanga Tukur died.

The Police Command said its operatives arrested the two men over the alleged theft of eight underground irrigation water pipes valued at N3 million from the former Gongola State governor’s farm located in Yola South Local Government Area.

“The suspects, 45-year-old Ibrahim Mohammed of Wauro Jabbe and 28-year-old Jemilu Yahaya (a scavenger from Jambutu Bypass), were arrested by operatives attached to the Kofare Divisional Police Headquarters in Yola following credible intelligence,” the Command’s spokesman, SP Suleiman Nguroje, explained.

Nguroje said preliminary investigation indicated that Mohammed allegedly stole the irrigation pipes and sold them to Yahaya.

One Carry-go motorcycle and the stolen irrigation pipes have since been recovered.

According to Nguroje, the suspects are currently in Police custody as investigation continues, after which they would be charged to court.

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 bank had moved away from direct development-finance interventions to building stronger institutions and systems capable of sustainably delivering credit to agriculture and other productive sectors of the economy.

Cardoso disclosed this at the National Close-out Conference of the Global Project for the Promotion of Agricultural Finance for Agri-based Enterprises in Rural Areas in Nigeria (GP AgFin), held in Abuja.

He said the experience of the past eight years had demonstrated that development-finance systems could be rebuilt and sustained, despite economic fragility and uncertainty.

He said the priority was no longer simply to deploy money into specific projects, but to strengthen institutions, improve coordination and create systems that would continue to generate value after individual development programmes had ended.

Represented by CBN Director, Development Finance Advisory Department, Dr. Paul Oluikpe, Cardoso said, “We believe that building systems is more important than just giving money. Building resilient systems is more important than simply providing funding for specific projects.”

According to him, CBN has “pivoted away” from maintaining the heavy footprint it previously had in the development-finance space, opting instead to deploy its convening power and advisory capacity to bring relevant institutions and stakeholders together.

Cardoso said the approach involved strengthening development finance institutions, including Bank of Industry (BoI) and other relevant agencies, while also working with state governments to deepen the delivery of development finance.

It also emerged that the project, commissioned and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), facilitated €53.9 million, (about N61 billion) in financing to smallholder farmers through partner financial institutions.

The CBN governor urged stakeholders to ensure that the lessons and practices generated by GP AgFin were incorporated into existing systems rather than lost with the closure of the project.

He said, “The end should be much more than simply a closure,” stressing that sustainable systems should prevent the country from repeatedly starting over with new interventions.

The eight-year GP AgFin programme reported substantial expansion in access to agricultural finance, with over 101,449 farmers and agribusinesses accessing tailored financial products and services, generating 150,300 financial transactions.

He disclosed that 22 tailored agricultural financial products were developed and piloted, with 19 permanently integrated into the portfolios of partner financial institutions without GIZ/AgFin funding. Also, 19 of the products also incorporated digital delivery, while partner microfinance banks recorded repayment rates of more than 90 per cent.

The project, which ran from 2018 to 2026 across 10 states, focused on six value chains—maize, rice, cassava, Irish potato, poultry and aquaculture.

From Access to Impact

Delivering the keynote address, CBN Deputy Director and Special Assistant, Office of the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, Dr. Michael Ononugbo, said the next phase of agricultural finance must be measured by its impact on productivity, incomes, employment, food security, and resilience rather than merely by the volume of loans disbursed.

Speaking on the theme, “From Access to Impact: Embedding Agricultural Finance in Nigeria’s Economic Policy Architecture,” Ononugbo said access to finance was only the starting point.

He said, “The true test of agricultural finance is not whether credit has been extended, but whether that credit has transformed lives, strengthened value chains, and contributed to sustainable economic progress.”

He stated that agriculture was central to employment, food security, rural development, and economic diversification, but continued to face constraints including fragmented landholdings, inadequate infrastructure and storage, climate vulnerabilities, volatile commodity prices, weak financial records, and limited collateral.

Consequently, he said, financing had to be aligned with agricultural production cycles and supported by reliable data, market linkages, risk-sharing mechanisms, advisory services, digital innovation and effective institutional frameworks.

Ononugbo also stated that

 financial products must be tailored to individual value chains because the financing needs and risk profiles of rice farmers, poultry operators, fish farmers, processors, aggregators and input suppliers were not the same.

He said the integration of agricultural-finance products into the portfolios of partner institutions was particularly significant because it indicated a transition from externally driven projects to institutional ownership.

He stated, “Development projects are valuable because they introduce innovations, demonstrate viability, and build capacity. However, lasting impact depends on whether domestic institutions embrace and sustain these innovations beyond the life of a project.”

He disclosed that CBN’s experience with direct intervention programmes had also informed its changing approach.

According to him, an internal assessment in 2025 showed that the

 bank’s intervention portfolio had exceeded N10 trillion, with outstanding repayments approaching N4.7 trillion.

While acknowledging the role such interventions had played, he said the experience had exposed challenges, including market distortions, excess liquidity, and difficulties for monetary management.

Ononugbo stated that CBN was consequently repositioning itself as a facilitator, catalyst and policy enabler rather than a primary lender.

He called for stronger agricultural research and innovation, stating that sustainable productivity growth would be difficult without investment in areas, such as improved seedlings, fish feeds, poultry production, and soil health.

Project Leaves Behind Institutionalised Products

In his remarks, Chief Executive, National

 Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, said the real measure of a development project should extend beyond what it achieves during implementation to what remains after its closure.

Ibrahim said GP AgFin had tested financial approaches, operational tools, and technologies, in partnership with financial institutions and practitioners, creating assets that should now be deployed across the wider ecosystem.

“The opportunity for our society is to move from successful projects to sustainable systems,” he said.

He said NADF, implementing agencies, financial institutions and development partners were committed to building on the project’s achievements and advancing inclusive finance while improving the measurement of impact.

GIZ: Smallholder Finance is Feasible

Meanwhile, Sector Coordinator, Rural Development and Agriculture Transformation of Agri-food Systems (TAFS), Dr. Andrea Ruediger, said the project had challenged the long-standing perception that lending to smallholder farmers was inherently too risky.

Ruediger said the programme had reached more than 101,000 farmers across 10 states, mobilised more than N61 billion, developed tailored financial products, and built knowledge and training capacity intended to survive the project.

She said the results constituted evidence that could contribute not only to Nigeria’s agricultural-finance policy but also to wider international development practice.

She stated that GP AgFin was part of GIZ’s global agricultural-finance programme covering nine African countries, with approaches developed in Nigeria being transferred into the wider programme.

According to her, the project has also trained more than 40 certified trainers and reached over 1,100 students at Federal Colleges of Agriculture, helping to build capacity beyond the immediate beneficiaries.

She urged stakeholders to use the close-out not as an endpoint but as a transition into a phase of scaling proven models.

Preparing Banks, Farmers for Agricultural Lending

In her presentation, Head of Project, GP AgFin, Ms. Ruskiyat Badmus, said the project’s central challenge had been the limited visibility of smallholder farmers within the formal financial system.

Badmus explained that the programme deliberately worked on both sides of the divide—helping farmers understand finance while equipping financial institutions to understand agricultural businesses and develop appropriate products.

Rather than provide funds directly, Badmus said GP AgFin facilitated the financial system to make smallholder farmers more bankable.

The project helped financial institutions identify viable business models, understand agricultural value chains, develop suitable products, and improve credit and monitoring practices.

The result, she said, was that more than 100,000 smallholder farmers previously excluded from formal financial services gained access to finance, while about 50,000 became repeat borrowers.

She put the repayment rate at 90 per cent, stating that the figure demonstrates that agricultural lending could perform when properly structured.

Badmus said the majority of beneficiaries were served by microfinance

 banks because commercial banks often lacked the structures and appetite to serve the smallholder segment under their traditional business models.

Beyond lending, the project trained 21,128 participants in financial literacy, comprising 16,006 farmers and 5,122 agribusiness managers, according to the media brief.

Women represented 53 per cent of demand-side training participants, while young people accounted for 39 per cent. Through its Market Access Training approach, about 80 to 85 per cent of participants were women.

The project also supported 11 financial institutions in developing agricultural-finance products and worked to institutionalise its training materials and knowledge products.

Badmus said eight knowledge products had been developed and made available for continued use, while more than 40 certified trainers could continue disseminating the approaches after the project formally concludes in October.

She identified product ownership by

 financial institutions, piloting before scaling, proper understanding of agricultural value chains, and financing of genuinely profitable enterprises as some of the major lessons from the programme.

Badmus also stressed the importance of data in tracking farmers, transactions, and outcomes, alongside stronger linkages among farmers, financial institutions, markets and other value-chain actors.

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No fewer than 311 smallholder farmers in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State have been trained on the use of digital tools to improve farm management, access to finance and crop production.

The training was organised by agritech company Crop Cura, in collaboration with Dizengoff and Casava Insurance at the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Secretariat.

The organisers had targeted 200 farmers for the activation, but the turnout rose to 311, according to the organisers.

The event brought together agricultural officials, farmer representatives and other stakeholders, including the Director of Agriculture for Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area, Abolade Omidiji.

Also present were the State Chairman of the Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Lanre Kokumo; MAAN coordinator for Ado-Odo/Ota, Asanbe Victor; Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP) coordinator for Ado-Odo/Ota, Wale Ajayi; and Extension Officer for Ifo and Ado-Odo/Ota, Obagade Abiodun.

The training was conducted mainly in Yoruba to enable farmers, including those with limited formal education, to participate fully in the sessions.

Representatives of Dizengoff, identified as Friday, Omolade and Toyin, spoke to the farmers on appropriate use of agricultural inputs, fertiliser application and crop protection.

The session also addressed soil-related challenges and the need for proper application of farm inputs to improve productivity.

Representatives of Casava Insurance, led by Jesuloba and Shina, introduced the farmers to agricultural insurance and explained how insurance could help protect farm investments against losses linked to weather and other agricultural risks.

The farmers were also given an opportunity to ask questions about crop failures, weather-related risks and other challenges affecting their operations.

In a presentation titled, “Use your phone to farm better and get money for your farm,” Crop Cura’s Dr Soetan Olatunbosun demonstrated ways farmers could use smartphones for agricultural activities.

He introduced farmers to the Crop Cura artificial intelligence (AI) tool, which allows users to use camera scans to identify possible crop-health problems and obtain advisory information.

The farmers were also encouraged to keep digital records of their farms, including acreage, planting dates, inputs, labour costs, harvests and sales.

Olatunbosun said maintaining such records could help farmers build verifiable financial profiles that may support their efforts to access credit.

He, however, stressed that AI should complement, rather than replace, physical farm inspections and professional agricultural advice.

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The foundation’s Brand and Communications Manager, Clinton Inene, disclosed this during a training session on Saturday.

Inene said the campaign was being implemented under the Empowerment of Smallholder Farmers to Thrive and Build Climate Resilience through Regenerative Agriculture Project, with funding support from the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation and Nigerian Breweries PLC.

He explained that the intervention was designed to address farming practices contributing to bush burning, deforestation, declining soil fertility, erosion and land degradation, which he said were increasing farmers’ vulnerability to drought and unpredictable rainfall.

According to him, the farmers received practical training on tree planting and protection, prevention of bush burning, soil conservation, water management, mulching, composting, and the use of manure and other organic fertilisation methods.

He added that the farmers were also introduced to earth bunds and half-moons, which could help reduce erosion, slow water runoff and improve rainwater infiltration.

Irene said the campaign reached more than 21,000 farmers, including 12,442 women and 13,850 young people.

He stressed that behaviour change was essential to ensuring that climate resilience interventions produced lasting results.

“It is not enough to give farmers inputs and tools. They also need to understand why these practices matter and how the choices they make on their farms affect the land and their livelihoods,” he said.

The communications manager said farmers were also introduced to services available through FSSS Farmers’ Hubs, including improved seeds, agricultural inputs, training, mechanisation, climate information and market opportunities.

He noted that the SBCC campaign formed part of the wider ESTRRA Project, which aims to directly reach 14,000 smallholder farmers and contribute to the restoration of 29,000 hectares of degraded land across Bauchi North.

Speaking with journalists at the sidelines of the training, a farmer from Katagum Local Government Area, Musa Abdullahi, said the training had changed his approach to soil management.

“Before now, I used to burn the residues on my farm because I thought it was the easiest way to clear the land. From the training, I learned that the residues can be used as mulch and compost to improve the soil. I will stop burning them and use them to support my crops,” he said.

Similarly, a female4rt farmer from Giade Local Government Area, Hauwa Ibrahim, said the lessons on water conservation would help her reduce losses during periods of irregular rainfall.

“The training taught us how to make earth bunds and half-moons to keep water on the farm. This is important because rainfall is no longer predictable. I will apply what I learned so that my crops can receive more water and grow better,” she said.

Arewa PUNCH reports that the farmers unanimously agreed that the knowledge gained from the training would help them improve soil fertility, conserve water and reduce the cost of farming.

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