EZFarming Receives $4 Million USAID Grant To Scale Youth-led Farm Estate Model
EZFarming receives $4 million USAID grant to scale youth-led farm estate model
To support food production and security in Nigeria, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has selected EZFarming, the country's leading agritech marketplace, to receive funding and technical assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
As one of 32 companies selected to receive a total of $4 million in funding through the USAID/Nigeria COVID-19 Food Security Challenge, EZFarming joins a distinguished group of innovators.
The mission of the agritech company is to empower smallholder farmers to expand their farm sizes and increase food production in a sustainable manner, in order to strengthen the supply chain ecosystem in which they operate. Farming company EZFarming has established a farm estate covering more than 1000 acres in Osun State, with plans to replicate it in each of Nigeria's 35 states. Smallholder farmers on the estate are assisted in scaling up their farm businesses by the company, which arranges financing through a network of microlenders, provides inputs to the smallholders, and connects them with buyers of their produce.
the founder of EZ Farming, Dr. Adewale Oparinde, expressed his delight that a grant from USAID would help his company accelerate its efforts to scale its model while also providing opportunities for more youth and women to expand their production capacity. We are grateful for the support of the American people in our efforts to restore hope to the many smallholder farmers and youth in our country. Our high level of service and trust, which we have earned over the last two years while serving clients all over the world, is reflected in this award. EZ Country Homes is a new real estate structure based on agricultural land investments that the company has developed to provide additional value to farmers. Its services now include microlending, a produce marketplace, farm ownerships, and a new real estate structure based on agricultural land investments.
According to him, "we have a proof of concept for our farm estate model in Osun State, which provides a source of income for rural youth and women." The assistance and funding provided by the USAID/COVID-19 Nigeria's Food Security Challenge will allow us to scale up this model by assisting an additional 200 smallholder farmers in expanding their farms and increasing their production capacity, while also providing internship opportunities for several unemployed youth."
Oparinde went on to say that the company will continue to be a leader in providing support to farmers and value for money to microlenders through its Internet of Things-enabled platform, thereby positively impacting the agricultural value chain as a whole.
"Microlenders lend money to smallholder farmers by leasing farmland, financing crop production, and financing rainwater harvesting, all in accordance with the EZFarming model. Aside from that, EZFarming will use USAID/Nigeria funding to encourage youth participation in agriculture by placing youth interns with farmers to gain hands-on experience and providing training on the best agronomic practices for crop yield improvement. The expansion of EZFarming's existing model will improve food security, farmer productivity, and living standards for those living at the bottom of the food pyramid in Nigeria, according to the company "The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) stated in a statement.
According to USAID, 19 of the 32 companies that were selected for the grant are led by young people, with another 13 still in the early stages of development.
"Now that we have reached another milestone, we will continue to do what we do best," Dr. Oparinde also stated. After that, it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work delivering goods. Throughout Nigeria, we invite everyone to join us in our efforts to empower more smallholder farmers and to improve the food security of the country "
