Zakari Yakubu

Zakari Yakubu is a seasoned agricultural extension and field-operations professional with substantial experience in agricultural extension, farmer mobilisation, community development, farmer aggregation, agricultural production coordination and rural agricultural projects.

His professional experience provides an important practical dimension to Excel Agro Value Chain Nigeria Limited (EXCELAGROVC), particularly because the success of an AI-Powered Digital Agriculture Infrastructure Platform depends not only on technology, finance and digital systems, but also on a strong and continuously engaged physical agricultural network.

Zakari's role bridges the gap between digital agriculture infrastructure and the realities of farmers and rural communities. His experience in farmer mobilisation, agricultural extension, community engagement and large-scale agricultural projects positions him to help EXCELAGROVC build the field network required to identify, onboard, verify, support and continuously engage farmers across its agricultural ecosystem.

Academic Foundation

Zakari has built his professional career on a strong academic foundation in agricultural extension and agricultural management.

He holds an HND in Agricultural Extension and Management from Akperan Orshi College of Agriculture, Yandev, Gboko, Benue State, and an NCE in Agricultural Science, Double Major, from Kogi State College of Education, Ankpa, Kogi State.

He is also pursuing an M.Sc. in Agricultural Extension at the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State.

His academic training in agricultural extension complements his practical field experience and provides the foundation for his work in farmer education, community mobilisation, agricultural development and extension-service coordination.

Experience in Agricultural Development and Farmer Mobilisation

Throughout his career, Zakari has participated in agricultural development initiatives involving smallholder farmers, rural communities and agricultural value chains.

One of the significant areas of his experience was his participation in the Sustainable Weed Management Techniques to Reduce Poverty and Drudgery amongst Small-Scale Farmers in the West African Savannah initiative.

The initiative involved organisations including the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), DFID, Silsoe Research Institute in the United Kingdom, University of Agriculture Makurdi and NCIR, with activities covering states including Kogi, Benue and Cross River.

This experience exposed him to the practical challenges facing small-scale farmers and the importance of introducing agricultural technologies and improved production practices that can reduce drudgery, improve productivity and contribute to rural livelihoods.

FADAMA Experience and Community Development

Zakari also gained valuable experience through Nigeria's FADAMA agricultural development programmes.

He participated in the sensitisation of 16 communities and the preparation of Local Development Plans (LDPs) designed to enable farming communities to participate in Fadama II development activities.

The FADAMA model placed considerable emphasis on community mobilisation, farmer groups, participatory planning and local development. The World Bank's documentation of FADAMA II describes the programme as a community-driven development approach in which facilitators supported communities in social mobilisation, group formation, sensitisation, training and preparation of Local Development Plans.

Within this environment, Zakari participated in farmer sensitisation relating to:

Agricultural assets;

Rural infrastructure;

Farmer groups;

Community development;

Agricultural production activities; and

Community participation.

He subsequently participated in FADAMA III-related activities, including farmer sensitisation, group formation, agricultural assets and infrastructure development, with particular exposure to cassava and rice value chains.

This experience is highly relevant to EXCELAGROVC because the company's digital platform is designed to operate alongside a physical farmer network in which communities, farmer groups, field agents and agricultural service providers remain connected to the digital ecosystem.

Farmer Aggregation and Anchor Borrowers Experience

Zakari has also developed experience in farmer aggregation and agricultural financing programmes, including the aggregation of farmers who benefited from the Central Bank of Nigeria's Anchor Borrowers Programme across selected agricultural value chains.

This experience aligns closely with EXCELAGROVC's proposed agricultural operating model:

Farmer Identification → Onboarding → Verification → Aggregation → Financing → Monitoring → Production → Aggregation → Market

The ability to organise farmers into identifiable and commercially viable groups is particularly important to EXCELAGROVC's model because agricultural finance, input distribution, extension services, mechanisation and market access can be delivered more effectively when farmers are properly organised and their production activities are continuously monitored.

Y-Omache Nigeria Limited

A significant part of Zakari's practical agricultural experience comes from his role as Managing Director/CEO of Y-Omache Nigeria Limited.

During the 2018 wet season, Y-Omache Nigeria Limited aggregated 1,129 farmers under a five-hectare-per-farmer concept, representing approximately 5,645 hectares of cassava production in Kogi State, based on the project figures provided by the company.

The project provided practical exposure to large-scale farmer aggregation and agricultural production coordination, including:

Farmer mobilisation;

Cassava production;

Farmer organisation;

Input coordination;

Mechanisation;

Agricultural project implementation;

Field supervision; and

Production coordination.

This experience is particularly relevant to EXCELAGROVC's ambition to build a scalable agricultural network beginning in Kogi State and subsequently extending into other parts of Nigeria.

Credit Trade Term, Inputs and Mechanisation Experience

Y-Omache Nigeria Limited was also granted Credit Trade Term (CTT) and received a written Order of Delivery relating to the supply of agricultural inputs and mechanisation services corresponding to the aggregated farmers and hectares.

This provided Zakari with practical exposure to the interdependence between:

Farmers → Inputs → Mechanisation → Production → Aggregation → Market

That experience is directly relevant to EXCELAGROVC's integrated agricultural ecosystem, where farmer identification and aggregation can be connected with financial institutions, input suppliers, mechanisation providers, insurers, processors, aggregators, logistics providers and off-takers.

Agricultural Training and Extension Experience

Zakari's professional experience also includes agricultural training and community-based extension activities.

His experience encompasses:

Training farmers in modern agricultural skills and technological approaches;

Participatory Research Extension Approaches;

Participatory agricultural technologies;

Farmer aggregation workshops;

Community workshops;

Community assessment;

Farmer mobilisation;

Agricultural sensitisation; and

Rural community engagement.

These capabilities are important to EXCELAGROVC because technology adoption in rural agriculture requires more than simply deploying a digital platform. Farmers need to understand the benefits of the platform, trust the system, receive appropriate support and have access to human field representatives when necessary.

His Role at Excel Agro Value Chain Nigeria Limited

As Head, Agriculture, Farmer Aggregation & Field Operations, Zakari is responsible for helping EXCELAGROVC build and manage the physical agricultural network that supports its digital infrastructure.

His responsibilities include the following:

Farmer Mobilisation

He coordinates the identification and mobilisation of farmers and agricultural communities within EXCELAGROVC's target markets.

Farmer Onboarding

He supervises the registration and onboarding of farmers onto the EXCELAGROVC platform, helping to ensure that farmers become active participants rather than simply registered users.

Farmer Verification

He supports the verification of relevant farmer, farm, production and community information required for EXCELAGROVC's agricultural ecosystem.

Agricultural Extension

He coordinates agricultural-extension activities designed to support farmers with relevant production knowledge, technologies and agricultural services.

Field-Agent Network

He supports the recruitment, training, deployment and supervision of EXCELAGROVC field agents who serve as the human interface between rural communities and the digital platform.

Farmer Aggregation

He develops and coordinates commodity-based farmer groups and aggregation structures that can support financing, input distribution, production monitoring, aggregation and market access.

Agricultural Monitoring

He supports field monitoring of agricultural activities, including production progress, farmer participation, crop activities and other relevant agricultural indicators.

Financing Support

He supports the field-level monitoring of farmers financed through financial institutions connected to the EXCELAGROVC ecosystem, while helping ensure that agricultural activities and farmer information remain current.

Connecting the Physical Farmer Network to Digital Agriculture

One of Zakari's most important responsibilities within EXCELAGROVC is helping to connect the physical agricultural economy with the company's digital infrastructure.

EXCELAGROVC's long-term model requires every farmer relationship to evolve beyond one-time registration. Farmers should be continuously connected to relevant services including agricultural advisory, finance, insurance, inputs, markets, aggregation and other value-chain opportunities.

Zakari's field operations function therefore provides the human and community layer supporting EXCELAGROVC's digital platform:

Community → Field Agent → Farmer → EXCELAGROVC Digital Identity → Agricultural Services → Finance → Production → Market

This combination of digital infrastructure and field-level agricultural engagement is intended to enable EXCELAGROVC to build a continuously active and commercially connected farmer network.

Strategic Contribution to EXCELAGROVC

Zakari brings an important combination of agricultural education, extension experience, community mobilisation, farmer aggregation and practical production coordination to the EXCELAGROVC management team.

His experience complements EXCELAGROVC's broader capabilities in digital business, financial inclusion, agricultural value chains and technology.

Together, these capabilities support EXCELAGROVC's vision of building an agricultural infrastructure in which farmers are not merely registered, but are progressively made more visible, identifiable, verifiable, financeable, insurable, productive and market-connected.

As EXCELAGROVC begins with its Kogi State pilot and prepares for wider expansion, Zakari's field-operations function is positioned to help translate the company's digital strategy into measurable agricultural activity at community level.

His work ultimately supports one of EXCELAGROVC's core principles:

Technology should not replace the farmer relationship; it should strengthen it.

Through the integration of agricultural extension, farmer aggregation, field operations and digital technology, Zakari contributes to EXCELAGROVC's objective of creating a scalable bridge between farmers, financial institutions, agricultural businesses, government programmes, technology and markets.