John Babadara

John Babadara’s (JB) time during the Humphrey Fellowship at Cornell University in 2022-2023 was focused on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development. He takes particular interest in holistic food systems transformation and has meticulously mapped out AgriTech startups across Nigeria. During the winter break, students of Cornell University’s SMART program led by Professor Mabaya, travelled to Nigeria to explore its digital agriculture ecosystem. JB was a key member of this team, hosting it, scheduling, and organizing its meetings and accompanying them in their fieldwork. 

The team aimed to understand the landscape in which agricultural service providers develop and distribute digital innovations for smallholder farmers. They met a broad range of stakeholders ranging from farmers to ministers and NGOs like AGRA to international development organizations like the African Development Bank. The team was able to develop a comprehensive case study on a precision agriculture and remote sensing start up called Rural Farmers Hub while also providing it with growth consultancy. John continues to leverage his network and connections to improve national strategy on the one hand, and on the other hand he keeps pushing for alleviating the conditions of Nigerian smallholder farmers through digital interventions.