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Adam Smith International – Knowledge Exchange and Cascaded Commercialisation to Foster Local Economic Development

Adam Smith International (ASI) is a global advisory company that works in partnership with governments, the private sector, and civil society at all stages of development, to transform lives by making economies stronger, societies more stable, and governments more effective.

How the RISA Fund Grant was Used

Through the RISA Fund grant, ASI worked to increase the capacity of local economic growth in Nigeria, through productive agricultural mechanisation value chains, reducing drudgery and improving productivity and earning potential of fabricators and processors. This was done through the Knowledge Exchange and Cascaded Commercialisation (KECC), mainly referred to as the RISA-KECC project.

Through the RISA Fund grant, ASI worked to increase the capacity of local economic growth in Nigeria.

The project is premised on an informed assumption that Nigeria’s technology centres work in isolation, and that the governance structure of the agricultural mechanisation value chain is not well coordinated. The project identified and brought together key actors to discuss these assumptions and tested their approach in two zones (Kano in the North- West and Lagos in the South-West).

The RISA- KECC inception activities were stakeholder-led collaborations, with the project team providing direction. This fostered co-creation and early phase ownership between the ASI project team.

Top Findings and Achievements

  • Mapping of technology centres (research institutes), fabricators, and processors involved in small scale processing equipment across all thirty-six states in Nigeria.
  • Informed stakeholders on available technologies and access to skilled expertise through RISA-KECC engagement events.
  • A Coalition Network of Stakeholders for Agricultural Mechanisation (CONESAM), was created to provide equitable, inclusive ecosystem governance and participation.
  • A web-based virtual platform to foster coordination, collaboration, and business development in the ecosystem was created.
  • Obtained buy-in from key stakeholders across the country through Written Letters of Intention to partners and participated in the project, as aligned with their mandates and objectives, including an invitation by Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) – a major stakeholder in strategic events.
  • Motivated by the RISA-KECC interventions, FIIRO organized an indigenous fabricator stakeholders workshop, strengthening ecosystem conversations on agricultural mechanisation challenges.

Recommendations and Next Steps

  • Create emerging opportunities for collaboration and commercialisation through established platforms, frameworks, and guidelines with processors by purchasing economically beneficial technologies.
  • Generate business interest between processors and fabricators.
  • Encourage entrepreneurial champions to adopt efficient processing techniques and cooperate with technology centres to promote agricultural mechanisation in workshops and factories while training others.
  • Consolidate initial gains and exchange ideas targeting the remaining four geopolitical zones in the country, ensuring that the project has physical presence in six out of thirty- six states, also known as the zonal offices, situated within the technology centres and supported by stakeholders.