-
Technology is helping middle-class Nigerians turn to farming without getting their hands dirty
More than 80% of farmers in Nigeria are small holder farmers who cultivate a few acres of land to feed their family and also sell produce to earn a living. Yet, while the government has failed—getting middle-class Nigerians to take up farming—thanks to technology, a crop of new agro-tech startups are finding success.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
The Power of SMS: How Simple Texts Can Provide a Lifeline for Farmers
Last month, nearly 3,000 coconut farmers in Mindanao received a text from FarmerLink warning that conditions were ripe for infestation by two devastating insect pests, allowing them to take preventive action. That's just one way SMS messages are being used by FarmerLink, a rural advisory service formed by Grameen Foundation and other partners. The foundation's Gigi Gatti explains how the project, which also connects farmers with buyers and other services, is impacting smallholders 18 months after its launch.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
-
Small Tweak, Big Impact: How a ‘Simple Innovation’ Convinced Farmers to Improve Agricultural Inputs
TechnoServe and the Gulu Agricultural Development Company (GADC), an agricultural company based in northern Uganda, partnered to see if a simple market innovation would spur farmers to use a hybrid maize seed and boost productivity. The results – as measured by a randomized control trial involving 1,000 farmers – show what is possible with even modest market nudges.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Impact Assessment
-
On ‘World Food Day’: Using Fintech to Support Smallholder Farmers and Feed the World
More smallholder farmers are using digital tools to access funds to improve their farms. But with a whopping US $200 billion gap in financing, many cannot access the financing they need to invest in things like seeds, fertilizers and irrigation technologies to increase production and improve their livelihoods. Mikael L. Clason Höök and Malia Bachesta of the RAF Learning Lab highlight several innovative fintech companies that are addressing barriers faced by smallholder farmers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance, Technology
-
A New Era of Farming: Unlocking Innovations for Smallholders Via Non-Traditional Finance
Non-Traditional Finance (NTF) may be critical to unlocking innovation processes among smallholder farmers, and could represent an untapped opportunity to enable them to break the cycle of poverty. But there's a lack of guidance on promising practices for the systemic application of NTF to support scaling of smallholder farmer innovations. That's why MEDA launched a call for proposals for NTF ideas, for which the deadline is Oct. 6.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
-
Ag Stigma Be Damned: Flipping the Script for Young People, Farming and Investment
Smallholder farmers are getting older – the average age of a coffee farmer is 60 – and fewer and fewer young people are replacing them. This problem isn’t new. But it’s becoming more and more urgent. Will McAneny at Root Capital writes about several agricultural businesses that are flipping the script by asking: What if opportunity flourished on the farm?
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education, Investing
-
From Farm to Phone to Table: A Case Study Series Explores the Impact of Digital Tools on Agriculture
Over the past decade, the use of mobile phones and other digital tools in farming has skyrocketed. Today, more than 60 percent of the population in the developing world now have at least one mobile phone. USAID aims to show that digital tools can improve cost-effectiveness and development outcomes in food security and nutrition programs. Cristina Manfre and Christopher Burns explain a USAID case study series on different approaches.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
-
Cash, Trees, Honey and Bees: Enticing Ethiopia’s Farmers Toward Eco-Stewardship
In Ethiopia, use of herbicides as well as loss of habitat are causing a reduction in the local pollinator population, not unlike the global trend of pollinator decline that is threatening food security around the world. Julia Entwistle, a graduate student at the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability, details her summer internship with an organization trying to balance the interests of nature and farmers through profits.
- Categories
- Agriculture
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.