Zowasel and IDH partner to transform Nigeria’s sorghum value chain through regenerative agriculture

Date:09-23-2024

Zowasel, an agriculture technology company that leverages data science and nature-based solutions to improve farmers' productivity, sustainability, and profitability across the value chain, has partnered with IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, to develop the sorghum value chain in Nigeria. 

Jerry Oche Zowasel CEO and Eniola Fabusoro the Country Director of IDH

Sorghum is a crucial cereal crop for smallholder farmers across Nigeria. Still, they are grappling with climate change challenges, including unpredictable rainfall, increased pest and disease pressure, and soil degradation, which have led to declining yields and a lack of access to finance and guaranteed markets. Transitioning to regenerative agriculture aims to restore soil health, boost biodiversity, and enhance water retention through cover cropping and minimal tilling. 

This partnership will transform the sorghum value chain by fostering collaboration, innovation, and 30% co-investment from IDH and Zowasel, contributing 70%. This will make the Sorghum value chain more sustainable while delivering value to smallholder farmers, communities, and the environment. The initiative will support smallholders aged 20 to 60, with at least 40% of participants being women, targeting farms of 1-2 hectares to achieve a yield of three metric tons per hectare.

In 2023, Zowasel worked with Guinness Nigeria Plc, a Diageo subsidiary, on a regenerative agriculture pilot project supporting 2,000 smallholder farmers across southwest Nigeria cultivating sustainable sorghum. To scale up the second phase, IDH is co-investing 30% and Zowasel will provide technical assistance in transforming the sorghum value chain, supporting the company’s finance-seed-to-market approach and internal capacity-building process towards joint visions and program agendas for sustainable trade. 

Mr. Eniola Fabusoro, Country Director of IDH Nigeria, spoke at the inception meeting in Lagos and said, ″Zowasel has demonstrated extensive knowledge and capacity to deliver on this project. The partnership between IDH and Zowasel will enhance smallholder farmers' knowledge and experience in sorghum production, adding value to their livelihoods while increasing market opportunities for all the stakeholders within the value chain″. 

Additionally, we strive to ensure sustainability in plant management, as we are heavily involved in regenerative agriculture practices. ″We look forward to improving our environmental footprints and having a positive overall impact on smallholder farmers' lives and all value chain actors," Mr. Fabusoro added. 

Zowasel will deploy its Crop Pilot, the Digital Measurement, Reporting and Verification (D-MRV), a proprietary technology to drive regenerative agriculture, reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) across the sorghum value chain, and support smallholder farmers' transition to regenerative agriculture. This technological solution reassures us of our commitment to effective and sustainable farming practices. 

The D-MRV system will also enable partner organizations to report their carbon footprints transparently to meet voluntary and regulatory compliance goals. This commitment to transparency and accountability builds trust between smallholder farmers and potential carbon credit buyers.

Zowasel is also deploying its Alternative Credit Evaluation Scoring System (ACESS) technology to support the farmers' transition process. ACESS is a comprehensive risk assessment and credit measurement tool that bridges the gap between financial institutions and smallholder farmers. It enables farmers to access alternative credit for approved farm inputs, driving the transition towards regenerative agriculture. 

Jerry OCHE, Zowasel CEO, highlighted that ″the IDH partnership is a significant milestone for the company and its smallholder stakeholders. The co-investment approach offers a win-win transformative approach for the sorghum value chain. It supports smallholder farmers' transition to regenerative agriculture practices for potential carbon credit and offers guaranteed markets, bringing hope for the future of climate financing″. 

Zowasel is also deploying its Farmer Call Centre across USSD, IVR, SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram platforms to support farmers' transition to regenerative agriculture. The Call Centre provides advisory content on agriculture, finance, insurance, hygiene, and climate change in native Nigerian languages, including Hausa, Yoruba, Pidgin, and English, by simply dialing *7199# across telecom networks (Glo, MTN, Airtel, and 9Mobile), ensuring rural penetration. 

Alongside the Call Centre, the Zowasel field team will support farmers' cooperatives and clusters in organizing stakeholder engagement to engage, enlighten, and educate smallholder farmers and deploy the company’s Extension Advisory mobile app to train and empower extension officers and field advisory on regenerative agriculture These experts will provide on-the-field training and workshops throughout the cultivation season, helping farmers implement regenerative agricultural practices that restore soil health, protect the environment, enhance biodiversity, and improve productivity and income.

Also, speaking on the partnership, Mr. Dayo Ogundijo, Senior Program Manager at IDH, commented, ″We are excited about our collaboration with Zowasel to develop the value chains to foster sustainable agriculture in Nigeria. Our goal and drive at IDH is to unite stakeholders to innovate, co-create, and co-finance the value chain challenges for sustainable markets.″ 

Zowasel works with corporate organizations committed to transforming agriculture from a carbon source to a carbon sink, from agriculture sciences to finance, manufacturing, and brewing. 

About Zowasel 

Zowasel is an agricultural company that leverages nature-based solutions, data science, and technology to improve farmers' productivity, sustainability, and profitability across the value chain. 

The company operates in Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania. It works with corporate organizations committed to transforming agriculture from a carbon source to a carbon sink, from agriculture sciences to finance, manufacturing, and brewing. 

About IDH

 

IDH (2008) is an international foundation that brings public and private stakeholders together to make global markets more sustainable and inclusive. Together with our partners, we develop solutions to critical challenges in global value chains, such as climate change, unfair working conditions and wages, unequal value distribution, and gender inequality. Our skilled employee base comprises 350+ conveners and experts of over 50 nationalities embedded in key markets and value chains.

Through our unique approach of convening, co-creating, and co-financing we transform markets, creating better jobs, better incomes and a better environment. We actively work with the private sector on improving their business practices, catalysing investments and landscape governance.