ThriveAgric Unveils Initiative to Boost 1m Smallholder Farmers’ Productivity

ThriveAgric, a fast growing technology-driven agricultural company, has unveiled the first of many initiatives, the ThriveAgric Marketplace, under its new strategy of ‘Farmer Obsession’ through which the company seeks to champion total wellbeing for smallholder farmers, with the end goal of promoting commercial over subsistence farming, and in turn, food security.

The ThriveAgric Marketplace is aimed at increasing local food production, boosting aggregation of farm produce in high demand, and enabling access to premium markets through trade and supply to domestic & global offtakers. Beyond the company’s outgrower programme, its marketplace also offers farmers access to quality and affordable farming inputs and tools such as seeds, fertilizer, crop protection products, grains, and water pumps.

This year alone, the ThriveAgric Marketplace with more than 500 warehouses spread across 20 states in Nigeria, has aggregated and supplied over 100,000 metric tonnes of soyabeans, paddy rice, maize, sorghum, millet, and wheat, to the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX), Flour Mills of Nigeria, Gerawa Rice Mills Ltd, Amo Byng Nig. Ltd, Leboil Ltd, Salco Ltd, ASM Nig. Ltd, Falke Oil, and more. The company has also collaborated with the Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN) to drive import substitutions, by funding 10,000 wheat farmers in the 2021 dry season.

Commenting on the initiative and new strategy, Chief Executive Officer, ThriveAgric, Uka Eje, expressed the company’s desire to transform agricultural infrastructures in Africa. 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.” He concluded.

In barely four 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. The company has provided farmers with over 150,000 tonnes of fertilizers and seeds in loans, produced & traded up to 800,000MT of grains, impacted 2,600+ communities, created 9000+ jobs, and has over 500 warehouses across Nigeria.

Adetoro Akindele, the company’s VP, Commercial, said, “ThriveAgric has identified a huge gap in our agriculture sector and has begun to provide necessary & expedient solutions for Nigerians and Africa as a whole, particularly with skyrocketing food prices. Towards implementing these solutions, we will continue to seek avenues to achieve our organisational objectives and grow through vertical and horizontal integration. Our vision is to build an Africa that feeds herself and the world, and it is well within reach with the right support and financial backing. The agriculture industry has so much to offer.”