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IBM Research, Hello Tractor Unveil Digital Wallet For Agriculture Based on AI and Blockchain
IBM Research Scientists and start-up Hello Tractor are piloting an agriculture digital wallet and decision-making tool which provides demand and supply visibility for farmers, tractor fleet providers and banks to give farmers the equipment and technology they need to build a sustainable farm.
This technology was unveiled on Tuesday at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa 2018.
In Sub Sahara Africa more than 60% of farms are powered by humans, with less than 20% provided by engines, a model which is not sustainable as food demand increases due population growth, which is averaging 11 million per year.
In addition, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization 35-50% post-harvest losses for perishable agricultural products are lost annually in the region due to poor planting practices.
To address this, in 2014 Hello Tractor launched a mobile platform to enable farmers to access tractor services on demand.
Using a mobile app, the service aggregates tractor service requests (e.g., ploughing) and then pairs them with recommended tractors and operators, while simultaneously tracking how many hours each piece of equipment is in the field and area serviced.
Jehiel Oliver, CEO and Founder, Hello Tractor said “Through valued relationships with companies like John Deere, we’ve been very successful in increasing mechanization access in small holder communities.
“To reach the next level, we need to add additional services including predictive fleet utilization and maintenance; operator and tractor scoring; financing and the crop yield forecasting.”
To achieve this, Hello Tractor turned to IBM’s research lab in Nairobi, Kenya. Scientists at the lab are working with Hello Tractor’s developers to apply several technologies, including the Watson Decision Platform for Agriculture, Blockchain, IoT and cloud, to bring new services to the app for tractor owners and dealers, farmers and banks.
The new services will be tested in a pilot starting in the first half of 2019.
More specifically,
- Farmers: machine learning will help to predict crop yields, which combined with advanced analytics and the blockchain, can be mined to develop a credit score for loans. Forecasted weather data from The Weather Company, an IBM business; remote sensing data (e.g., satellite); and IoT data from tractors will also be incorporated into the app to help small holder farmers know when to cultivate, the quality of their farm cultivation, what to plant, and the appropriate fertilizer using remoting sensing and IoT data. In the future, the IBM AgroPad technology, developed at IBM’s lab in Brazil, could also be incorporated to determine soil quality.
- Tractor Fleet Owners: using machine learning and IoT owners will be able to view and manage fleet utilization, predictive maintenance and forecast future tractor utilizations based on history, real-time weather and remote sensing satellite data. Using a five-star rating system, tractor operators will be ranked and utilized based on their training (e.g., ploughing, deep ripping, harrow, fertilizing). Owners will also have financing opportunities, for maintenance and for buying new tractors and implements using historical data.
- Tractor Dealers: can benefit from improved tractor repair and servicing, after sales support, spare part inventory planning and credit administration.
- Banks and Financial Institutions: can view and track utilization of tractors to determine a credit portfolio for the farmer and tractor owner, while also evaluating forecasted utilization to make credit decisions for tractor owners based on verified and trusted data on the blockchain.
- Governments: can utilize data and actionable insights for various decision support capabilities such as for structuring incentives, enforcing regulations prioritizing investments and policy decisions.
The backbone of the agriculture digital wallet is a blockchain-enabled and AI-based decision support platform, which enables capturing, tracking, and instant sharing of data, while creating end-to-end trust and transparency for all the parties involved across the agribusiness value chain.
“Our vision is to leverage AI, blockchain and the Internet of Things to digitize, optimize, and streamline agricultural business processes to create efficiencies and new services from farm-to-fork around the world,” said Dr. Solomon Assefa, Vice President, Emerging Market Solutions and Director, IBM Research – Africa.
For the next phase of the project, IBM researchers and Hello Tractor engineers are looking to use machine learning with image recognition to predict the quality of cultivation. For example, remote sensing data combined with weather data could be used to predict the next harvest. Plans are also underway to expand the platform beyond Nigeria to Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Hello Tractor is focused on improving smallholder farmer’s access to timely and affordable tractor services along with other farm inputs.
Our technology makes it easy and profitable for tractor owners to monetize tractors as business assets and connect with farmers to schedule tractor services.
Hello Tractor’s innovative use of IoT (the Internet of Things) simplifies complex data to ensure transparency, profitability, and accountability across our ecosystem of farmers, tractor owners, tractor dealers, original equipment manufacturers, banks, and governments.
MTN Nigeria is set to reignite the dreams of creatives with the launch of its Best of the Streets talent competition for the 2025 edition. This initiative aims to discover and nurture Nigeria’s next generation of creative talent.
L-R: Mobolaji Ogunlende, Honourable Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Lagos State; Dapo “D’Banj” Oyebanjo, Singer and Founder of C.R.E.A.M platform; Dandizzy, Rapper and Singer; A’isha Umar Mumuni, Chief Digital Officer, MTN Nigeria and Obi Asika, Nigerian music executive and Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture, NCAC., at the Best of the Streets press briefing on Wednesday, April 23 held at the MTN Rooftop Events Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Slated to commence on May 1, 2025, the competition offers unsigned artists a transformative platform to compete for life-changing rewards, including a grand money prize, professional music video production, and an EP recording deal.
At the press briefing on Wednesday April 23, A’isha Umar Mumuni, Chief Digital Officer of MTN Nigeria, emphasized the initiative’s impact.
“The premise of Best of the Streets is that there’s talent in every street in Nigeria, whether it’s acting, singing, dancing, comedy or other performance arts.
“Best of the Streets seeks to bring out that talent, to show Nigerian youths that there are opportunities everywhere; and at MTN, we are very proud to take part in creating these opportunities.”
Best of the Streets is in collaboration with C.R.E.A.M (Creative Reality Entertainment Art and Music), founded by Nigerian rapper, Dapo “D’Banj” Oyebanjo is a platform which provides talent management, publishing, and funding support to grassroots artists.
“The C.R.E.A.M platform provides solutions and services for talents, creatives and entrepreneurs, by granting them convenient access to showcase their skills and monetize their content. With our newly launched distribution arm, we are not just discovering talent, we are giving them the tools to take them global,” D’banj explained.
Chris Anokute, Nigerian-born LA-based American Executive, known for discovering global superstar Katy Perry, commended the efforts of this initiative in pushing local Nigerian music to the international stage. “Best of the Streets is the greatest artiste discovery platform I’ve seen come out of Africa.
“The music industry is, as of last year, a 30-billion-dollar industry. Afrobeats is the fastest growing genre in the entire world, over 1.1 million hours of music streamed out of Nigeria on Spotify this year alone.”
On the importance of empowering the creative capacities of the youth, Mobolaji Ogunlende, Honourable Commissioner for Youth and Social Development in Lagos State. “As a government, we have vowed not to leave anybody behind in Lagos state, irrespective of their background.
“There are about 30 million citizens in Lagos, and 60% of the youth. Not every youth will be able to go to school, but we still have the creatives, digital, fashion icons, among others. This platform is an avenue to encourage them.”
To participate, aspiring contestants can dial *463# on their MTN line, upload original content via the official @creamplatform, and mobilise votes from the public. Over 2584 creatives are set to be showcased and rewarded this year. Entries into this competition continue up until December, with daily, weekly and monthly winners, with a final winner who will secure the grand prize.
The Best of the Streets initiative reinforces MTN’s commitment to youth empowerment and creative innovation, aligning with Nigeria’s growing entertainment industry demands.
Meta has announced its intention to appeal the decision of the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT), which upheld a $220 million fine imposed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) over its data practices.
The penalty follows a 38-month investigation conducted by the FCCPC, in collaboration with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), which ran from 2021 to December 2023.
The investigation found evidence of unauthorised data sharing, insufficient user consent mechanisms, and discriminatory practices that treated Nigerian consumers differently from those in other regions.
In July 2024, the FCCPC imposed the $220 million fine on Meta and WhatsApp, citing violations of Nigeria’s data protection and consumer rights laws. Additionally, the ruling mandated corrective actions to ensure that Meta’s business practices comply with Nigerian regulations.
In a decision delivered on Friday, April 25, the tribunal upheld the fine, reaffirming the FCCPC’s authority and investigative processes. The tribunal also ordered Meta to pay an additional $35,000 to cover the costs incurred during the investigation.
However, Meta expressed disagreement with the tribunal’s ruling, stating in a statement on Saturday, April 26, that it would urgently seek to appeal the decision and apply for a stay of execution.
“We are urgently applying to stay the order and appeal today’s decision to avoid any impact to users,” WhatsApp said.
The company also contested the tribunal’s findings, claiming that the ruling misrepresented how WhatsApp operates and contained inaccuracies regarding its data practices.
Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal has upheld a $220 million fine imposed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Meta Platforms Inc. and WhatsApp LLC for data privacy violations in Nigeria.
The Tribunal also awarded $35,000 in investigative costs to the country’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission .
In a statement issued by the FCCPC, the Tribunal delivered its judgment in the appeal filed by Meta Platforms Incorporated (Facebook) and WhatsApp LLC against the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), affirming the Commission’s authority and ruling in favour of its actions on nearly all contested issues.
According to the statement by the FCCPC, “The Tribunal specifically determined that the Commission adhered to prevailing laws, fulfilled its mandate, and exercised its powers by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“It ruled that the multiple actions by WhatsApp and Meta, for which the Commission made findings of violations, were correctly identified, and that the Commission did not err in making those findings.”
The statement revealed that WhatsApp and Meta’s legal team was led by Professor Gbolahan Elias (SAN), while the FCCPC was represented by Babatunde Irukera.
It added that both legal teams presented their final arguments on behalf of their respective clients on January 28, 2025.
“The FCCPC had on July on July 19, 2024, issued a Final Order imposing a $220 million administrative penalty after concluding that the companies engaged in discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerian consumers, the investigation started in 2020.
“The case arose from a 38-month joint investigation initiated by the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) into the conduct, privacy practices, and consumer data policies of Meta Platforms and WhatsApp.
“Dissatisfied with the Order last year, Meta and WhatsApp appealed to the Tribunal, challenging both the legal basis and the findings of the Commission,” FCCPC said.
The Tribunal upheld the FCCPC’s authority and investigative procedures in Meta and WhatsApp’s appeal, resolving most of the contested issues in the Commission’s favour.
It confirmed that the FCCPC acted within its constitutional and statutory mandate, particularly regarding fair hearing, data protection, and consumer rights.
While it dismissed the majority of the appellants’ objections, it set aside one specific order (Order 7) for lacking sufficient legal basis.
While expressing satisfaction with the judgment, Tunji Bello, executive vice chairman/CEO, commended the Commission’s legal team for their exceptional diligence and forensic expertise in assembling evidence and presenting their case.
He reaffirmed the FCCPC’s unwavering commitment not only to protecting the rights of Nigerian consumers but also to promoting fair business practices in line with the FCCPA (2018) and the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Nigerian government.
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