An agribusiness technology company, Agrolinking, has introduced a new digital solution designed to help Nigerian agricultural producers navigate stringent European Union regulations. The platform, named AgTrail, focuses on food traceability and aims to ensure farmers and exporters can comply with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Understanding the EUDR Challenge for Nigeria
The EUDR, formally known as Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, presents a significant hurdle for Nigerian exports. It bans agricultural and forestry products linked to deforestation from entering the EU market. To gain access, producers must provide proof that their commodities were not grown on land cleared after December 31, 2020, were produced legally, and can be traced to specific farm locations using geolocation data.
Joseph Fashola, CEO and Co-founder of Agrolinking, highlighted the scale of the issue. He revealed that Nigeria's agri-food trade with the EU has surged, growing from about €477 million in 2020 to roughly €1.68 billion in 2024. Cocoa is the dominant export, forming the bulk of these earnings and representing Nigeria's biggest exposure to EUDR compliance risks.
"Because cocoa is explicitly listed under the EUDR, any failure in farm mapping, traceability, or deforestation-risk assessment could directly threaten the bulk of Nigeria’s agricultural export earnings from the European Union," Fashola explained. Other covered commodities like palm oil, coffee, and rubber face similar due-diligence demands, though their export value is currently smaller.
Structural Risks for Smallholder Farmers
The regulation poses a particular challenge for Nigeria, where much of the agriculture is driven by smallholders. These farmers often operate on family or communal land without formal titles, digital records, or GPS-mapped farm boundaries. This lack of documentation could block their access to the lucrative EU market under the new rules.
Fashola warned this creates a structural exclusion risk. Farms that are not digitally mapped or whose produce cannot be traced to a specific plot become commercially unattractive. Exporters are likely to avoid non-traceable sources to prevent shipment rejections, penalties, and sanctions. This shift could destabilize supply chains to the EU and affect food availability and consumer confidence.
How AgTrail Provides a Solution
Agrolinking developed AgTrail specifically to bridge these gaps. The platform enables:
- GPS-based farm boundary mapping
- Digital farmer and production records
- Creation of digital product passports
- End-to-end traceability from farm to fork
It supports the generation of the necessary due-diligence documentation that exporters need to prove compliance. Fashola stressed that effective implementation will require collaboration among farmers, cooperatives, exporters, tech providers, and government agencies.
He emphasized that sustained investment in traceability infrastructure is crucial for Nigeria to retain its EU market access and strengthen competitiveness as global sustainability standards tighten. Agrolinking is now engaging with both private and public-sector partners to drive coordinated adoption across priority value chains like cocoa.
