Agriculture contributes significantly to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) after Crude oil, and a huge portion of the Nigerian populace is turning to agriculture to address the looming food scarcity and rising food prices. Home grown agricultural products are gradually becoming a favorite option, due to the government’s embargo on importation of food items.

Toyosi Ayodele founded Agrorite, a Pan-African digital agriculture farming network which started, in 2019 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) objective 2 “Zero Hunger” and primary core value, which entails sustainable food production for Africa by effectively involving smallholder farmers.

Since inception, Agrorite has amassed a network of over 130,000 farmers, approximately 125,000 hectares of cultivated farmland, with about 350,000 MT of cultivated agricultural produce traded across 25 Nigerian states.This is in addition to managing commodity trade for more than ten agricultural commodities, including cocoa, sesame, cashew, ginger, maize, and shea butter etc. With warehouses for storage, which meet needed local and international quality standards.

The year 2021 saw the world come to terms with the fact that the COVID-19 epidemic had become a part of our everyday existence. Agrorite, at the beginning of the year expanded its scope to accommodate the impact of COVID-19 and cushion its effects. We verified that all employees were vaccinated and that all hygienic procedures were followed. Due to increased cases, insecurity and deadly collisions in specific parts of the country, agricultural production in those areas were slowed down to safeguard the security and safety of the operations team members. Physical trips to farms, monitoring, assessments, and trainings are all done with simplicity using our unique technology “Agrorite Bookie” in an effort to protect team members and activities. Physical meetings with partners, stakeholders, and team members have also been reduced to a bare minimum. The expansion of farmlands, led to a productive year with numerous successful agricultural production cycles, particularly in the commodities of poultry, maize, and rice, as well as an increase in the quantity of exported commodities.

The year was not one filled with only agricultural activities, as there were notable awards and recognitions received by Agrorite.Most Notable is the visit from the United Nations team to the Lagos office, and funding worth Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00)received from the premier brewery in Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries at the United Nations World Food Program Zero Hunger Sprint. The launch of Agrorite in Guinea Bissau, East Africa,saw the Pan-African company expand its reach into more regions of Africa.The invitation to Montepelier, France by President Emmanuel Macron and the French Government, was a great feat, as it went to show that the efforts made in the agricultural sector were gaining international attention. Africa’s most impactful Agricultural brand 2021 at the Global Quality Experience and African Brand Award, and induction as a member of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, were also highlight achievements in the past year.

Giving back the host communities and engaging in corporate social activities is a tradition, which in 2021 saw Agrorite participate in the World Food Day; feeding over a thousand children between the ages of 1-12. Also, the creation of farm opportunities to women and youth in the local host communities, and t, team-boding and recreation activities also featured prominently during the year,

These achievements are just a peak of what is to come in 2022, as the company intends to scale up on facets of its operations, increasing its farmers network while ensuring that it maintains its already set standards of storage. The impacts of these achievements motivate thecompany even more, and it wouldcontinue to find new and innovative ways to improve on the processing of its commodities in order to increase the availability of agricultural products, as achieve it two-year strategic goal of increasing the number of female farmers in its network, an even more mechanized and technological and automated farming process.