Nigerian Startup Develops Affordable AI-Powered Agricultural Robot for Smallholder Farmers

Lagos-based Agritech startup FarmBotics NG has unveiled a compact, solar-powered agricultural robot designed specifically for Nigeria 38 million smallholder farmers. Priced at 285,000 naira, the device is a fraction of the cost of imported commercial farm automation equipment and requires no specialized technical knowledge to operate.

The robot, named Oko, autonomously navigates crop rows using computer vision and GPS mapping. Its onboard AI can distinguish between crops and weeds with 94% accuracy, mechanically removing unwanted plants without herbicides. A suite of soil sensors continuously monitors pH levels, moisture, and nutrient content, transmitting data to a mobile dashboard that recommends precise fertilizer and irrigation schedules.

We built Oko for the farmer who owns two hectares and works it with his family, said CEO Abdulrahman Ibrahim. He cannot afford a 50,000 dollar rig. But he can afford this, and it pays for itself in one season through reduced labor costs and higher yields.

Field trials across 120 farms in Kaduna and Ogun states over the past 18 months have demonstrated an average yield increase of 25% and a 40% reduction in labor hours. The startup has secured 850 million naira in seed funding and is scaling manufacturing to produce 5,000 units annually.