Stakeholders in Nigeria’s agribusiness sector convened at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos, on July 22 to mark over a decade of transformative work by 2SCALE, a Dutch-backed initiative aimed at fostering inclusive agribusiness across Africa.
The event, a Public-Private Dialogue hosted by 2SCALE, drew actors from agriculture, finance, and development sectors to chart a sustainable path for inclusive farming and national food security. Central to the discussions was the need to integrate smallholder farmers, women, and youth into commercial value chains.
Despite facing challenges such as insecurity, COVID-19, and input price hikes due to the Russia-Ukraine war, 2SCALE Programme Director Marina Diboma said the initiative remained resilient. “We empowered vulnerable communities and made nutritious food more accessible,” she noted.
Meanwhile, Country Team Leader of 2SCALE, Maxwell Olitsa, highlighted the programme’s 12-year journey, which has involved building agribusiness clusters in multiple states and partnerships with 19 firms.
“Our focus has been to co-create programs with lead firms, SMEs, and farmer cooperatives,” he said. Looking ahead, he stressed the importance of knowledge transfer and institutionalising inclusion through collaboration with the Institute of Agribusiness Management.
The Consul General of the Netherlands in Lagos, Michel Deelen, stressed the need to professionalise Nigeria’s agriculture. He called for a shift from subsistence farming to mechanised, industrial models to reduce food prices and enhance availability. Deelen also noted the outsized success of women-led initiatives in agriculture, describing them as key to sustainable development.
A practical example of 2SCALE’s impact came from Yemisi Iranloye, CEO of Psaltry International. Her company, which pioneered sorbitol production from cassava in Africa, scaled up from 150 to 3,500 farmers with support from 2SCALE.
“The grant support helped us expand logistics and staff capacity, forming the base of our raw material strategy,” she said.
Also, the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, Ayo Sotirin, commended the progress made and promised further support. He announced plans to digitise farmer data, create unique IDs, and launch credit scoring based on performance and digital land assets to improve access to finance.
One of the Panelists, Chief operating officer, PostAgVest Solutions Limited, Mayowa Ekundayo advocated for replicating the agribusiness cluster model across Nigeria. “These clusters create ecosystems that allow individual players to thrive. Scaling them nationwide could be key to ending food insecurity,” he said.
The event concluded with a screening of “Food Soldiers”, a documentary showcasing 2SCALE’s achievements, and the unveiling of the 2SCALE Interactive Magazine by Marina Diboma, documenting the initiative’s journey and impact over the years.
