Smallholder farmers without access to best practices in crop production can now access agricultural information to drive profitability via the Farmers Business School initiative driven by the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), and the Successory Nigeria Limited with solutions support from MTN.
Speaking at the launch of the initiative, the Managing Director of NIRSAL, Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed, said the initiative is a mobile learning platform that is based on Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology.
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He said the NBFS will provide convenient, bespoke training on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to Nigeria’s Smallholder Farmers (SHFs) who crave improved access to vital information, which is critical to the success of primary production cycles.
He explained that NIRSAL didn’t fund the project but it provided the content and technical capability to drive the product.
According to him, NIRSAL will provide the curriculum, the content because NIRSAL knows what the farmers need from planting, harvesting to the market access. “We know the kind of soil he needs, we know the kind of fertilizers, seedlings, crop production practices thus we will micro-manage the farmers” through the business school for maximum productivity and profitability he explained.
Present at the launch, Mr. Adekunle Adebiyi, Chief Sales Distribution Officer of MTN Nigeria, said MTN is a natural collaborator in initiatives that meaningfully connect, inform and educate Nigerians.
