Digital Climate Change Adaptation Services for Sustainable Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria

Finding the right partners and places to ask questions is paramount to understanding the drivers of agricultural transformation. To facilitate opportunities for researchers and partners to develop trust and scope early-stage evaluation questions, DAISI funds small proposal development grants. These support very preliminary, exploratory research activities, including researcher travel. 

With this proposal development grant, researchers partnered with the Center for Sustainable Agricultural Empowerment, a non-profit that is implementing a digital application that helps maize farmers in Northern Nigeria adapt to climate-related risks. Researchers surveyed users of the SOFADRICLIMATE app, a digital platform bundling climate information and weather index micro-insurance for maize farmers in Nigeria.

Researchers found that while most users were experienced maize farmers, only 20 percent actually followed the app’s recommendations for farm planning, largely due to forgetting to consult the app and limited engagement during the farming season. Most farmers expressed a strong preference for regular text message reminders and expressed willingness to pay for climate information services, though awareness and interest in weather index insurance remained low. The next phase of this project will intentionally onboard a small group of maize farmers, who will receive training and reinforcing text messages. Researchers are exploring further work to measure the impact of this bundled service, while also working with partners to secure subsidy support for farmers to onboard the insurance platform.