There is a saying among the Yoruba people in South West Nigeria which translates to “the farmer is king.” This belief is also held firmly among Nigerians due to the vital role agriculture plays in Nigeria’s economy. In the 21st century, where technology is a crown jewel among young entrepreneurs and investors, it was a matter of time before it would be used to provide solutions for Agriculture.
In this light, FarmCrowdy came to the rescue in a dynamic way, blending technology with agriculture to address the numerous challenges facing farmers in Nigeria and Africa at large. With this innovation, passionate farmers now harvest bountifully, acquire farmlands and solve farm-related problems from their mobile devices.
Founded by Nigerian Onyeka Akumah, a graduate of Sikkim Manipal University, India and a technology enthusiast, the startup has impacted thousands of Nigerian farmers through its digital agriculture platform with the vision to impact positively the lives of 50,000 farmers and become one of the top 5 food producers in Africa by 2022.
According to the founder, he started FarmCrowdy in 2016, after he couldn’t save his friend’s farm from collapse due to lack of adequate funds to sustain another cycle of Cassava production on ten acres of land. This awful experience birthed the great idea that has spawned a fast-growing startup.
The business of agriculture made easier
Farmcrowdy is an agricultural technology platform which allows farmers to connect with investors to improve their products and expand their farmlands into a large-scale venture. With this awesome idea, people who are interested in agriculture can get involved without picking hoes and cutlasses, neither do they need to walk through the farms to weed during the planting season.
Farmcrowdy allows farm investors to invest, track and make a profit in Agriculture, while it also allows farmers to expand their production. In revolutionizing the agriculture sector in Nigeria, FarmCrowdy launched a mobile app, what they describe as “Farm in your Pocket.” According to Onyeka Akumah, Farmcrowdy is his contribution to the Agricultural sector using technology and marketing to boost food security, empower small-scale farmers and to encourage youths to participate in farming.
With the FarmCrowdy mobile app, investors/sponsors get an instant notification once a farm is open for sponsorship in any part of the country. They can sponsor local farmers and make some profit in the process through the notification. Investors and farmers also get relevant information, updates and support during the planting season through a mobile application.
Sponsors interested in investing for a farm cycle sign up on the website or mobile app to a personalized Farmcrowdy profile, and afterwards select a farm of choice to sponsor. Sponsors who have invested in a farm receive a percentage of the profit after the sales of harvest and also initial sponsorship capital at the end of the farm cycle.
The support provided by farm sponsors on the platform has helped many farmers expand their farmland and practice large-scale farming. They get periodic updates on the farms they sponsor and also monitor keenly the growth of their farm from its infancy to full maturity.
FarmCrowdy was recently awarded the Digital Business of the Year in Africa during the Annual Global Business Award in Addis Ababa. The company has won the heart of many through the innovative way it solved the perennial problem which has threatened the survival of farmers in Africa. Since it started operations, it has impacted over 7000 rural farmers by expanding their farm operations and increasing their income. It continues to bridge the gap between local farmers and investors, and also dealt with lack of funding through the fusion of technology into the agriculture sphere.
