Long before he became an engineer, Jerry Mallo had watched farmers in Plateau State lose crops they had no equipment to preserve.
Tomatoes became rotten in baskets, yams went soft in the sun, and cassava was often left unprocessed.
The machines that could have helped were either too expensive or not built for Nigerian farms. Today, Mallo is designing those machines himself in the very state that inspired him, making affordable, locally made tractors and processors built for Nigeria’s terrain and smallholder farmers.
“Mechanisation isn’t just about importing heavy equipment, it’s about designing for our farmers and our crops,” he said.
As Nigeria faces its worst food crisis in decades, innovators like Mallo are becoming more important than ever. With over 33 million people projected to face hunger in the second half (H2) of 2025, experts say technology, no matter how modest, is one of the few tools left to fight back.
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“Technology won’t solve everything overnight. But it can help us plan better, avoid waste, and ensure the right support reaches the right farmers,” said Rildwan Bello, co-founder of agribusiness firm Vestance.
Last year, the United Nations identified climate shocks as a major cause of the food crisis, something Nigeria is highly vulnerable to. In 2024 alone, over 5.2 million Nigerians were affected by floods, which wiped out nearly 1.44 million hectares of farmland.
With better data and planning tools, much of this could be anticipated, and potentially avoided, Bello said.
“We can do better weather monitoring and production planning. If you simulate what a flood will do to farmland, you can forecast food supply, and the government can build policy around that,” he noted.
As the largest producer on the continent, Nigeria churns out an estimated 12 million metric tons of maize annually, well short of its 16 million metric tons demand. However, insecurity and poor weather regularly widen that gap, and without reliable data, farmers and policymakers are often left guessing.
“We can now forecast flooding, warn farmers against planting too early, and advise on where to shift production,” Bello said. “It’s basic tech, but it changes everything.”
Traceability is also becoming critical. As Nigeria eyes export markets, global buyers demand to know where a crop was grown, who grew it and what chemicals were used.
Bello said tools being developed by companies like Sabi are helping to answer those questions.
These innovative solutions currently provided by these entrepreneurs represent a fraction of what’s possible with technology.
Proven agricultural solutions – from digital soil maps to drought-resistant crops – are ready to transform farming communities, but most smallholder farmers cannot afford and access these technological solutions at a larger scale.
Experts say Nigeria must ensure that these technological solutions are made more affordable and accessible for farmers to drive adoption.
Boosting farm mechanisation
Globally, innovation and technology are positively impacting crop production as farmers deploy farm machines, tractors, and drones to aid farming as well as artificial intelligence (AI).
But Nigeria is grossly lacking in the adoption of mechanisation and tractors.
Nigeria is listed among the least countries in the world with mechanised farming. The rate of the use of agricultural machinery is still below that which is considered necessary to meet the rising demand for food, as stipulated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Godson Ohuruogu, chief executive officer of TracTrac Mechanisation Services Limited, at the BusinessDay’s Agricultural event in May, said without adequate technological deployment, especially by smallholder farmers, the country cannot boost its agricultural productivity.
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Ohuruogu said Nigeria would require approximately 1.5 million tractors to boost productivity and attain food security.
He called for government-backed incentives for local tractor fabrication and a structured approach to scaling farmers from smallholder operations into commercial ventures.
Femi Adekoya, founder of Integrated Aerial Precision, stated that Nigeria has reached a point where technology is indispensable in farming activities.
“Technology saves time in farming. It saves time, makes things easier for the farmer, and can produce more food in less time than more farmers can.”
He explained that with advancements such as drone technology and precision farming, farmers could increase efficiency while protecting themselves from hazardous substances and diseases that may spread from plants to humans.
Making farming attractive to youths
Experts say applying new technologies to farming will boost the appeal of agriculture to younger people and help increase their participation in the sector.
They noted that the country’s agriculture must be transformed so that it offers young people an appealing alternative to urban life.
Technology makes agriculture attractive to youths, said Jude Obi, president of the Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria.
Obi noted that a lot of young people do not want to take up farming because of the intensive labour involved in crop production.
He noted that technology is changing all of that now as several young people are providing digital and technological solutions to address issues in the sector.
“With continuous investments in tech and digital solutions, we would start seeing more youths involved in farming,” he said.
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Holding the torch
Sabi, cofounded by Nigerian entrepreneurs Anu Adasolum and Ademola Adesina during Covid as a B2B e-commerce platform, now helps power supply chains in agriculture and fast-moving consumer goods, focusing on the processes involved in the sourcing and distribution.
In 2024, Sabi partnered with Indian company, Nectar Fresh and UK-Nigerian company, Meadow Foods, to launch the Oyo State Aggregation Project. The goal was to build a reliable supply chain for crops like cashew nuts and shea nuts. The project spans 250,000 hectares in the Opara Forest and uses drone tech for its resource management.
But it is not just Sabi. Through planting up until processing, several companies and startups are working to modernise Nigeria’s agricultural system.
In Nigeria, African Exchange (AFEX), with operations in major grain-producing states, and Thrive Agric, with over 850,000 farmers onboarded to its input-based loans system, offer digital financing linked to crop cycles, helping farmers access funds when they need them most.
Across Kebbi, Osun, and Ogun states, Tropical General Investments Group, a major exporter of commodities like cashew, cocoa, and cotton, is working with farmers, through outgrower schemes to secure farmlands and raise productivity using tech-led approaches.
