World Food Day: Agriculture and Technology for Innovators

World Food Day (16th October) is an international day to mark the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on the same date in 1945. To mark this year’s celebration, Innov8 Hub recaps the activities of some of the agricultural Innovators who are Fellows of the Innovation Fellowship for Aspiring Inventors and Researchers (i-FAIR). These Fellows developed innovations/prototypes with massive potential of influencing the food and agricultural value system in Nigeria.

Kabir working on his egg incubator — ^{Kabir Abdulrazaq’s innovation (Egg Incubator)}

KABIR ABDULRAZAQ (Smart Egg Incubator)

Through i-FAIR, Kabir Abdulrazaq designed an automated Smart Egg Incubator, powered by both electricity and gas, for efficient and automated incubation. The creation of his prototype was motivated by the cost-accruing and power shortage challenges of egg incubation, to facilitate the hatching of healthy eggs for poultry farms.

SAMSON OGBOLE (Soilless Farm)

Sub-Saharan Africa experiences the challenge of crop seasonality, which affects fluctuation in the prices of agricultural produce. Samson Ogbole, through i-FAIR, developed a compact soilless farm Hydroponic Grow System, to offer a crop growth system principally made for urban areas, occupying just one square metre of space, and capable of growing over 525 vegetables per time.

ABDULLAHI ORIRE (Sogi Fish Feeder)

Fish farming in Nigeria has been hindered by the lack of capacity and technology to rear fish in large quantities, as the Federal Government states that the demand for fish exceeds 3.6 million metric tons, while the country is only able to produce about 1.2 million metric tons. Abdullahi Orire produced a solar-powered multipurpose aquaculture system for fish farmers to reduce the cost of fish farming by preventing wastage, underfeeding and overfeeding.

ACHI NUAJIED (Ginger Processor)

Achi Nuajied, a ginger farmer from Kaduna, Nigeria, created an automated system for processing ginger into other products. The manual processing of ginger into other products after cultivation is both stressful and rigorous, prompting ginger farmers to sell their produce to foreigners with the capacity to process. She has been able to process her ginger into oils, raisings, balms, drinks, and edible foods.