Federal Government, in collaboration with Nigerian Women for Agricultural Progressive and Development Initiative (NWAPDI), has launched Sovereign AgroTrade System (SAS), a technology-driven platform to transform agriculture by connecting farmers to markets, finance, and global opportunities.
Speaking in Abuja at the launch with the theme: “Building Wealth from the Soil – Digitally and Inclusively,” Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, said SAS was a an innovation that aligns with the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Abdullahi, represented by his Special Adviser on Strategy, Mohammed Sani, said SAS comprises four core digital tools: AgriXchange Marketplace for direct trading between farmers and buyers; NWAPDI Grow for microloans, savings, and mobile payments; AgriCert for product traceability and quality assurance; and FarmAssure for data-driven farm management.
The minister noted that the platform addresses challenges faced by rural farmers, especially women and youth, who have often been at the mercy of middlemen and lacked access to competitive markets and financial services.
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“We are unveiling a platform and launching a movement of Nigerians for Nigerians, mainly for women and youths.
“This is not just about agriculture. It is about food sovereignty, financial sovereignty, and technological sovereignty,” he said, pledging that government support to integrate SAS into national agricultural strategies”.
National Coordinator, Omolara Svensson, said SAS was born from her experiences as a farmer struggling with low prices, poor market access, and inadequate financial support.
Through SAS, Svensson noted that farmers can showcase their products, secure fair prices, manage farms with digital records, access finance, and tap into local and export markets.
She stressed that the platform will help retain youth in agriculture by making it profitable and dignified.
“SAS is not just a technology, it is a promise that our farmers will no longer be at the mercy of middlemen, volatile markets, and unreliable payment systems.
“When women farmers rise, nations are fed, economies are strengthened, and communities are transformed,” Svensson said.
She acknowledged the support of partners including Norcom LLC, BIPOWER, Terra FinTech, state agriculture ministries, the Bank of Agriculture, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
The SAS platform is now available to farmers in all 774 local government areas of Nigeria, with NWAPDI urging cooperatives, institutions, and communities to adopt it as a tool for wealth creation, food security, and national pride.