Firms partner to enhance food security

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in partnership with the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services, has organised a stakeholder meeting to support the development of a sustainable public-private partnership model for a digital agricultural extension services solution to empower smallholder farmers and boost food security in Nigeria.

The event held in Lagos on Wednesday brought together stakeholders from the public, private, and development sectors to explore innovative solutions that address the challenges faced by smallholder farmers and support Nigeria’s food security ambitions.

Smallholder farmers in Nigeria contribute up to 90 per cent of the country’s food production but face barriers, including limited access to advisory services, fragmented private sector solutions, and underfunded public extension systems, which limit their ability to adopt innovative practices and access markets effectively.

The proposed PPP DAES solution aims to bridge these gaps by leveraging financial sustainability, user-centred design, and tailored solutions to deliver agronomic, market, and financial information at scale. This system seeks to ensure long-term viability while aligning with Nigeria’s agricultural goals of self-sufficiency and import substitution by prioritising private sector leadership.

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