Nigerian Agritech Company Afrimash Launches USSD Code to Improve Farmers Access to Farm Inputs

Nigerian agritech company Afrimash, an online marketplace for livestock farmers to find and access farm supplies and equipment, has launched a USSD code.

The USSD code *2282*2# launched by Afrimash will enable farmers to have access to farm inputs through the Agent Network systems that are unique in the Agri-tech ecosystem. 

Speaking on the newly introduced USSD technology, the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Afrimash Company Limited Ayoade Ahmed Oyedotun said; “In partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), we started the Agent Network, which tries to solve the critical problem of getting quality agricultural inputs for farmers. 

“Afrimash has over 3,000 products on its platform and we are passionate about helping farmers gain easy access to them.

“What we did was to get agents in every community to serve these farmers and farming clusters, ask them what they need, help them place their orders on our platforms, and get them delivered.

“In collaboration with USAID and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), we started this network in sixteen (16) states, Kaduna, Kebbi, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Borno, Benue, Niger, Ebonyi, Delta, Cross River, Oyo, Osun, Lagos, Ogun, and Ekiti.

“Across each state, we have a minimum of a hundred agents. When you multiply it by these sixteen states, we have over a thousand six hundred agents across these states.

“This has positively impacted our finances and revenue. We have created jobs for over a thousand six hundred people and we have also been able to reach more than one hundred and twenty-three thousand farmers across the nation.”

With regards to the USSD technology, Afrimash has made it possible for farmers that do not have smartphones to also access products and farming input.  The USSD code is basically focused on farm input purchase and delivery to farmers in any part of the country. 

In its role to ensure food security in the country, Afrimash was announced as one of the 32 winners of the USAID/Nigeria COVID-19 Food Security Challenge last year October.