Ogun farmers get digital training

No fewer than 311 smallholder farmers in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State have been trained on the use of digital tools to improve farm management, access to finance and crop production.

The training was organised by agritech company Crop Cura, in collaboration with Dizengoff and Casava Insurance at the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Secretariat.

The organisers said it targeted 200 farmers for the activation but the turnout rose to 311 owing to excitement.

The training was conducted mainly in Yoruba to enable farmers, including those with limited formal education to participate fully in the sessions.

Representatives of Dizengoff spoke to the farmers on appropriate use of agricultural inputs, fertiliser application and crop protection.

The session also addressed soil-related challenges and the need for proper application of farm inputs to improve productivity.

Representatives of Casava Insurance introduced the farmers to agricultural insurance and explained how insurance could help protect farm investments against losses linked to weather and other agricultural risks.

The farmers were also given an opportunity to ask questions about crop failures, weather-related risks and other challenges affecting their operations.

In a presentation titled: “Use your phone to farm better and get money for your farm,” Crop Cura’s Dr Soetan Olatunbosun demonstrated ways farmers could use smartphones for agricultural activities.

He introduced farmers to the Crop Cura artificial intelligence (AI) tool, which allows users to use camera scans to identify possible crop-health problems and obtain advisory information.

The farmers were also encouraged to keep digital records of their farms, including acreage, planting dates, inputs, labour costs, harvests and sales.

Olatunbosun said maintaining such records could help farmers build verifiable financial profiles that may support their efforts to access credit.

He, however, stressed that AI should complement, rather than replace, physical farm inspections and professional agricultural advice.