The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE has said Nigeria’s collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is propelling the nation’s technology innovation and startup ecosystem to new heights.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Survey on the Digitisation of Supply Chains in Small-Scale Nigerian Farms, organised by AGROVESTO, a JICA-funded Agritech startup and beneficiary of NITDA’s iHatch Incubation Programme Cohort 2, the NITDA boss who was represented by Dr Amina Sambo-Magaji, Deputy Director, e-Government and Digital Economy Development Department, described the partnership as a cornerstone for Nigeria’s socio-economic transformation.

He noted that Nigeria now boasts as one of Africa’s most vibrant startup ecosystems, with young entrepreneurs using technology to solve local challenges with global implications. “Nigeria is home to over 200 fintech startups revolutionising financial services, fostering inclusion, and empowering millions,” Inuwa said by citing success stories such as Paystack, Flutterwave, and Paga.

Highlighting the role of iHatch, a joint incubation and acceleration programme by NITDA and JICA, Inuwa explained that it provides training, mentorship, seed funding, and ecosystem support to budding startups across different sectors.

He further emphasised that the recently enacted Nigeria Startup Act has created incentives to lower barriers for innovators.

These include tax holidays, easier registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), government-backed grants, innovation hubs, technology parks, and regulatory sandboxes.

According to the NITDA DG, these interventions are designed to stimulate investment, nurture talent, and position Nigerian startups for global competitiveness. He urged stakeholders, from government to investors, to continue supporting the ecosystem.

“Through strategic partnerships such as the one we enjoy with JICA, we are laying a strong foundation for sustainable growth, inclusive development, and global competitiveness. Nigerian innovations will not only solve local challenges but inspire the world,” he concluded.

Also speaking, Chief Representative of JICA in Nigeria, Mr. Ishigame Kenji commended AGROVESTO for their dedication, creativity and pro-activeness in implementing the project, urging them to expand the initiative to reach more farmers across Nigeria.

Earlier in his opening remarks, AGROVESTO Co-founder and CEO, Bayo Adewoye commended Nigerian farmers for their hard work and contribution to national food security.

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The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Inuwa has emphasised the transformative potential of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain in addressing challenges faced by Nigeria’s farmers, noting that these technologies can revolutionise agricultural practices and improve food security.

Inuwa, who was represented by Engr. Salisu Kaka, Director of Digital Economy Department, said this while delivering a keynote speech in Abuja at the Launching of the Survey on the Digitisation of Supply-Chain in Small-Scale Nigerian Farms Project organised by AGROVESTO (an Agritech startup and a beneficiary of the iHatch Incubation Programme Cohort 2) in conjunction with NITDA, Office for Nigeria Digital Innovation (ONDI), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) as partner.

The event’s purpose was to launch a project that will enable small holder farmers in Nigeria to thrive, increase their income, and expand their market opportunities thereby creating wealth and prosperity for the country through agriculture.

Inuwa stated that agriculture employs a significant number of Nigerians and accounts for 25.18 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP in 2023 through crop production, livestock, forestry, and fishing, with crop production taking the largest share; maintaining that digitising the supply chain for small-scale farms offers a transformative solution to the challenges of food security in the country.

He explained that small-scale farmers are the backbone of crop production in Nigeria. Still, they face numerous challenges including limited access to technology, high production costs, limited financing, high post-harvest losses, poor market access, labour shortages, and high labour costs. These issues he noted hinder their productivity and economic potential.

Inuwa affirmed that supply chain optimisation will ensure that small-scale farmers can meet the increasing consumer demands, enhance food quality and safety, and promote and utilise sustainable practices.

“This can be achieved through the adoption of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), which can handle time-demanding tasks using machine learning and predictive modelling; the Internet of Things (IoT), which can monitor crops and generate real-time data to inform automation and best practices; and blockchain, which can provide end-to-end traceability in supply chains with sharable data, building consumer trust and even making it easier to isolate and manage disease outbreaks in crops,” Inuwa said.

He said “NITDA has been actively supporting the growth of Nigeria’s agricultural sector. One key initiative is the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) which has engaged 965 farmers in integrating technology into agriculture.”

“Our Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan, 2024 – 2027 (SRAP 2.0) also highlights our focus on promoting technology in agriculture to boost food security, increase the sector’s GDP contribution, drive economic diversification, and create jobs, aligning with the priorities of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he added.

Citing a good use case of digitised agricultural sector, Inuwa disclosed that according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), agriculture contributes 33 per cent to Kenya’s GDP. He divulged that JICA, through its Small Horticulture Empowerment & Promotion (SHEP) Approach, doubled the income of 2,500 small-scale farmers between 2007 and 2009 alone.

During his presentation, Co-founder/CEO AGROVESTO Bayo Adewoye said that 63.5 per cent of these farmers earn between 20,000 and 100,000 naira monthly during the sales season while 63 per cent take their products to the open market to sell.

He added that the project has been designed to address these challenges, and the expected outcomes include; improved farmer income by connecting farmers to wider markets through digital tools and increasing their bargaining power and sales, boosting their incomes.

Furthermore, efficient Supply Chains by digitising agricultural value chains can reduce post-harvest losses and improve the flow of goods, benefiting farmers and markets.

He said the initiative enhances digital literacy, empowers farmers with digital skills to enable them leverage technology to access information and expand their market reach.

He further explained that the next step is to rollout digitisation of access to the market which entails the design and integration of a tailored digital platform for market access. And the onboarding of cooperatives and SHEP graduates to the platform. Then monitoring and evaluation activities which includes review meetings with JICA and ONDI, webinar and knowledge sharing.

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