Zowasel Scales Up Diageo Sorghum Value Chain Development In Nigeria, Supports Smallholder Farmers’ Transition To Regenerative Agriculture
Zowasel, an agricultural technology company that leverages data science and artificial intelligence to enhance smallholder farmers’ productivity, sustainability, and profitability across the value chain, has begun the second and scale-up phase of the Diageo Regenerative Agriculture Program for Guinness Nigeria Plc.
The program aims to develop the sorghum value chain and support farmers’ transition to regenerative agriculture for the next three years.
An initial pilot phase was held in 2023, supporting 2,000 smallholder farmers across southwest Nigeria as part of the trials. The second and scale-up phases are expected to run until 2027 to improve on the pilot’s learnings and Zowasel’s advanced technology in addressing the value chain challenges. This stage also support farmers’ transition to sustainable farming practices that aim to restore and enhance the health of the soil, increase biodiversity, and improve the resilience of the ecosystem.
Sidney Okeke, Program Manager at Zowasel Nigeria, highlighted that “the scale-up phase for the next three years is a significant win-win for all stakeholders. It provides guaranteed markets for smallholder farmers, ensuring their produce is reasonably priced. It also offers them access to knowledge, alternative finance, improved seeds, and required technology to practice sustainable agriculture.”
The regenerative agriculture program will support 4,000 smallholder farmers with an average of one to two hectares per farmer to achieve a three-metric ton harvest per hectare, working with smallholders between the ages of 20–60 years, with a target of at least 40% female farmers.
Zowasel is deploying its proprietary Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) technology to champion Diageo’s sustainability goals. This commitment to technology aligns with our dedication to providing local sourcing communities with agricultural skills and resources and the confidence to build economic and environmental resilience as part of “Society 2030: Spirit of Progress.”
The Zowasel Alternative Credit Evaluation Scoring System (ACESS) technology, a comprehensive risk assessment and credit analytic tool, is also deployed to support farmers’ finances in transitioning to achieving the target. This technology helps evaluate smallholder farmers’ creditworthiness, enabling them to access loans for approved farm inputs from partner financial institutions, thereby driving the transition to sustainable agriculture.
Commenting on the program, the Kwara State Coordinator for the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Alhaji Nasir Olugbenga Yusuf, stated, “We applaud Zowasel for their foresight in promoting regenerative agriculture. Their dedication to food security and sustainable farming practices in our country is commendable. On behalf of our farmers, I extend our heartfelt thanks to Zowasel. Their activities will benefit individual farmers and contribute to the overall growth of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.”
Zowasel will work with a cohort of smallholder farmers across cooperatives to support smallholder farmers with tailored sustainability practices; train extension agents, agronomists, and sustainability experts to provide on-the-field training and workshops to farmers throughout the cultivation seasons to nurture and restore soil health, protect the environment, water resources, and biodiversity, and enhances farmers’ productivity, sustainability, and income.
The company will also support smallholder farmers in accessing timely, relevant, and accurate learning content on agriculture, finance, insurance, nutrition, weather, and climate-smart advisory. Extension and advisory are available via text and voice messages in Hausa, Yoruba, Pidgin, and English through Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) code *7199#, which is available across all telecommunication networks in Nigeria, including Glo, MTN, Airtel, and 9Mobile.
Remote Crop Centre infrastructures and demonstration pilots have been developed across selected communities in the region to seamlessly connect smallholder farmers to the Zowasel platform, offering best practices and supporting their transition to regenerative agriculture. These centers serve as hubs for knowledge sharing, training, and technology adoption, enhancing the farmers’ capacity and productivity.
Zowasel works with corporate organizations across industries, from agriculture sciences to finance and manufacturing to brewing that are committed to the environment to transform agriculture from a carbon source to a carbon sink.
For partnership and inquiries, please email us at partners@zowasel.com.
