Innov8 Hub

Facebook-f Instagram Linkedin Youtube

Category: i-FAIR

i-FAIR Category

Sustainable Farming in Nigeria

Encouraging farming in Urban centres through sustainable systems.

As a developing nation, agriculture is important to Nigeria. Livestock farming, fish farming, forestry, and crop production make up the agricultural sector. Crop production accounts for 87% of the products from the sector. To end extreme poverty, agriculture can increase earnings and ensure food security.

A study by the world bank in 2016 revealed that 65% of poor adults make their living through agriculture. Agriculture contributed 22% to Nigeria’s GDP in 2021 (NBS). The sector employs over 36% of the labour force making it the largest employer of labour in Nigeria. 80% of farmers in Nigeria are Small Holder Farmers (SHF). Between 2016 – 2019, these SHFs produced 90% of Nigeria’s agricultural produces.

Nigeria’s agricultural sector faces several challenges. Firstly, because the supply of agricultural products cannot meet the demand, we import. Secondly, there is a shortage of value chain linkages in the sector. The seasonality of crops leads to a fluctuation in price. Furthermore, the location of farms in rural areas mitigates easy transportation. Then there is the problem of food storage which creates food wastage and shortage.

The Solution

Samson Ogbole the founder of “Soilless Farm” and an i-FAIR participant, has developed a sustainable solution to address some of the sector’s challenges. The soilless farm solution will promote the growth of SHFs. This is done through the use of a hydroponics system that would ensure all-year-round vegetable growth in urban areas. The hydroponic system is a 1.5m by 1m grow system with the capacity to grow 500 vegetable plants (100kg of vegetables) per month.

A mini version of the hydroponics system for sustainable farming in urban areas

The problem with crop seasonality is solved by cultivating vegetables all year round. Furthermore, by selling these vegetables, these SHFs would increase their earnings.

i-FAIR

The Innovation Fellowship for Aspiring Inventors and Researchers (i-FAIR) is an innovation-focused initiative. It focuses on raising a generation of innovators, inventors, and researchers in Nigeria. The fellowship training takes place for 6 months. The fellowship provides workspace, equipment, and monitoring for participants. This will enable the participants to transform ideas into inventions, innovations into solutions and prototypes, ready for industrial uptake. During the Innovation Fellowship for Aspiring Researchers (i-FAIR), Samson, under the mentorship and support of experts from the fellowship, was able to develop a working product.

Egg Incubation & Technology.

Using a smart egg incubator to solve egg incubation challenges in poultry farming.

Poultry farming in Nigeria contributes 26% of Nigeria’s agricultural GDP. Farmers rear domestic birds like chickens and others for meat and eggs as a source of protein. However, poultry farming is faced with challenges. One of the challenges faced by poultry farmers in Nigeria is egg incubation. According to statistics from the World Bank in 2020, the Nigerian agricultural sector currently employs 35% of the population.

Egg incubators facilitate the hatching of healthy chicks for poultry farming. The high cost of egg incubators is a problem for poultry farmers who want to buy them, and this affects their poultry output. Furthermore, some of these incubators are powered by electricity. Therefore, when there is a power outage, the incubation process is at risk because temperature plays a vital role in the egg incubation process.

Kabir Abdulrazak, a poultry farmer and innovator, has come up with a brilliant solution to tackle these challenges. He designed an automated smart egg incubator powered by both electricity and gas. The incubator solves the problem of power supply by switching to gas whenever electricity is cut off. The system also regulates the temperature to ensure that the incubation cycle stays safe. The best part of Kabir’s innovation is that the materials used in developing the smart incubator are locally sourced. This gives more poultry farmers access to a cost-friendly incubator.

Smart Egg Incubator

i-FAIR

The Innovation Fellowship for Aspiring Inventors and Researchers is an initiative for raising a generation of innovators, inventors and researchers in Nigeria.
The 6-month innovation start-up is an initiative of the Israeli Embassy in Nigeria and the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria. It provides needed workspace, equipment and mentoring to participants, to enable them to transform their idea into inventions, innovations into solutions and prototypes, ready for industrial uptake.

As a participant at the Innovation Fellowship for Aspiring Researchers (i-FAIR) Kabir under the mentorship and support of experts from the fellowship, was able to not only come up with a proof of concept but also develop a working product.

Innov8 on Facebook