Agricultural technology startup ThriveAgric has unveiled its ‘ThriveAgric Marketplace’ as the company seeks to enable 1 million smallholder farmers access affordable and quality farming inputs, such as Fertilizers, Seeds, Grains, etc to boost their productivity.
According to the company, ‘ThriveAgric Marketplace’ was set up to increase local food production in the country as well as boost the aggregation of farm produce in high demand, and also ensure food security.
Speaking on the unveiling of this initiative and new strategy, Chief Executive Officer of ThriveAgric, Uka Eje disclosed how ThriveAgric seeks to contribute to the sustainable growth of Nigeria and Africa’s Agricultural sector.
He said, “In recent times, experts argue that agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa remains lower than the rest of the world due to factors such as limiting regulations, climate, soil quality, disease, and a reliance on subsistence farming.
“Yet, in time past, our continent boasted of thriving agricultural systems which enabled food production and security.
“At ThriveAgric, we aim to overthrow this current trend and rebuild Africa’s agricultural systems through our new strategy and attendant initiatives which will encourage scale by positioning our smallholder farmers to derive more value for their efforts.
“In the long term, this will contribute to the sustainable growth of Africa’s agricultural sector and support food security, manufacturing, and trade.”
ThriveAgric has so far provided smallholder farmers with over 150,000 tonnes of fertilizers and seeds in loans.
It has also produced and traded up to 800,000 metric tonnes of grains, impacted 2,600+ communities by creating 9000+ jobs, and has over 500 warehouses across Nigeria.
Founded in 2016, with barely six years of operations, ThriveAgric has used its proprietary technology, an Agricultural Operating System (AOS), to empower over 350,000 smallholder farmers in Nigeria to increase their yield and income by selling their products to FMCGs & food processors.
In the 2021 dry season, the company collaborated with the Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN) to drive import substitutions, by funding 10,000 wheat farmers.
