The MTN Foundation, in partnership with the Ogun State Government and the Federal Government, has launched AgriConnect, a digital agriculture platform aimed at empowering 1,000 smallholder farmers with mobile-enabled agricultural intelligence.
Speaking at the official launch held on Wednesday at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Kuto, Abeokuta, the Executive Director of the MTN Foundation, Mrs. Odunayo Sanya, said the initiative would enhance food production by equipping farmers with critical digital tools and knowledge.
The project is a collaborative effort between the MTN Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, the Ogun State Government, and Huawei Nigeria Ltd.
Sanya explained the goal of the initiative: “Through AgriConnect, we are leveraging mobile-enabled agricultural intelligence to equip our smallholder farmers with real-time weather updates, market prices, and best practices that will improve yields and boost incomes.”
She highlighted MTN Foundation’s longstanding commitment to socio-economic development in Nigeria, revealing that the organisation has invested over ₦32 billion since 2004 in areas such as capacity building, healthcare, and economic empowerment, impacting more than 33 million Nigerians.
“At the MTN Foundation, our vision is a Nigeria where no community is left behind—and AgriConnect brings us closer to that vision,” she added.
In his remarks, Governor Dapo Abiodun reaffirmed his administration’s dedication to agriculture as a driver of economic growth and rural development.
“Ogun State ranks among the states with the slowest rise in food inflation. Our focus is not just on boosting productivity but on creating a holistic, technology-driven ecosystem that empowers our farmers with timely information and sustainable support,” the governor said.
He announced that 1,000 farmers have been randomly selected from the Ogun State Farmers’ Information Management System—Nigeria’s first digital farmers’ database, currently hosting 160,000 registered farmers—to benefit from digital tools and training under the AgriConnect pilot project.
Abiodun also shared some achievements of his administration in the agriculture sector, noting that 12,466 cassava farmers have received support, with mechanisation provided for over 4,000 hectares of farmland.
He added that the state had distributed over 196,000 bundles of cassava stems, nearly 7,000 bags of fertiliser, and more than 60,000 litres of agrochemicals to farmers.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, praised the initiative and emphasised the growing importance of precision agriculture.
“Agriculture today requires data-driven decisions. A single week’s delay in planting can lead to significant losses,” he said.
Tijani commended Ogun State’s use of meteorological data to guide planting schedules and called for broader access to such intelligent tools across the country.
“Nigeria has the capacity to feed itself, but we must leverage innovation to unlock that potential. With the President’s target of cultivating 500,000 hectares, and Ogun State’s leadership in mechanisation and off-taker linkages, this initiative is a step in the right direction,” he concluded.
The PUNCH
