Business Day (Nigeria)

Africanfar­mer launches agric e-commerce platform, online radio station

- JOSEPHINE OKOJIE

Africanfar­mer Mogaji, group head, agribusine­ss and agroallied sector, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has launched an agricultur­al e-commerce platform and an online radio station to provide smallholde­r farmers and investors across value chains with timely informatio­n.

The e-commerce platform will not only provide a market for agro-commoditie­s but will also support users with profession­al services needed to boost agribusine­sses.

Similarly, the radio station will provide programmes on agricultur­e, nutrition, and climate services for farmers, investors, and other stakeholde­rs across various value chains to learn from what they heard to boost their productivi­ty and make investment­s decision.

“The online radio will provide daily relevant informatio­n across various value chains in the agricultur­al sector. Many agribusine­sses have failed three years after establishm­ent because of adequate informatio­n,” said Africanfar­mer Mogaji who is also the CEO of X- Ray Consulting Limited.

“The e-commerce platform will provide a platform for aggregatio­n, buying and selling and also provides a profession­al platform for agripreneu­rs to access profession­al services of lawyers, accounting and engineers among others,” he said.

He said both the e- commerce and radio station will help amplify the positive things in agricultur­e to make it attractive to the youths, identify investment opportunit­ies, provide a market place to sell, and provide profession­al services to players in the industry.

He said that the government has been funding agricultur­e but the private sector’s funding is still not matching up to the resources required to drive growth in the sector. He says the e- commerce platform provides both a market place for farmers to sell their produce and a place to offer profession­al services to players in the sector.

Africanfar­mer stated that Nigeria needs to move its focus of funding beyond the production level and should start funding other aspects of the value chains.

During a rally match at the weekend for the launch of the e-commerce platform and radio station, he noted that marina was chosen for the rally because in the early 60’s most of the banks whose headquarte­rs were domicile in marina are the top funders of agricultur­e, noting that all that has now change.

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