Digital Literacy, outputs market access and demand for rural E-commerce in Nigeria led by Dr. Khadija Amolegbe from University of Ilorin. Linking smallholder farmers and markets in Sub-Saharan Africa is key to unlocking full agricultural potential in the region given its bulging population, poverty, urbanization and food security challenges. Farmers face poor road networks, price fluctuation and a lack of market information, all of which makes digital innovation a critical alternative way to link farmers to markets. The project is providing digital literacy training to the farmers so that they can use their mobile phones to access E-commerce to sell their harvest.
New and emerging challenges like COVID-19 have exposed the limitations of the agricultural supply chain in developing countries. They have also made policy makers recognize the importance of digital transformation and innovations in agricultural systems.
This project will ready its main components for rapid scaling, if successful. The digital literacy directory can continue to be updated as a directory of rural e-commerce platforms, digital marketing experts and website developers. The digital literacy curriculum developed for this project can also be adapted by multiple stakeholders to address the digital divide between urban and rural areas, particularly for vulnerable groups like women.
This project will also provide critical market research that could spur private investments in expanding access to e-commerce. The Agriple WTP results will provide evidence on the demand for rural e-commerce thereby informing the scale-up investment decisions of Agriple and other private investors that may also recognize the opportunity to replicate the platform and invest in the rural e-commerce market.
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