For Abdulwahab Abdulroqeeb, the problem CropVault is attempting to solve is not merely an academic or commercial opportunity. It is rooted in personal experience.
Growing up around agriculture, Abdulroqeeb witnessed how post-harvest losses can affect farmers and their livelihoods. His father was a farmer, and the losses associated with agricultural production and storage became one of the experiences that shaped his decision to explore how artificial intelligence could be used to address real-world problems.
Now, the 400-level student is building CropVault, an early-stage venture exploring an AI- and Internet of Things-powered approach to reducing grain post-harvest losses, starting with maize farmers in Niger State.
In an exclusive interview with AIBase reporter Ahmad Ibrahim, Abdulroqeeb explained that CropVault is still at the research and problem-discovery stage, with the team refining its approach after conducting direct interviews with farmers.
“CropVault is building an AI and IoT-powered solution to grain post-harvest losses, starting with maize, in Niger State,” he said.
A problem rooted in personal experience
Abdulroqeeb said his interest in agricultural innovation was shaped partly by his family’s experience with farming.
“I, as the founder, particularly have a background experience with post-harvest losses in agriculture,” he said.
“My father was a farmer, and post-harvest losses were one of the major reasons that made him stop farming.”
That experience, he said, contributed to his broader interest in applying artificial intelligence to sectors where he has personally encountered significant challenges.
“My aim of using AI to solve problems isn’t only in agriculture,” Abdulroqeeb said. “It spans across agriculture, education and healthcare.”
He said his choice of these sectors was influenced by the problems he has observed and experienced.
“I have my reasons for picking these sectors, basically because of the experience I’ve had from them, the problems I’ve seen in these sectors, which I believe AI is capable of solving.”
For CropVault, however, the immediate focus is agriculture and, more specifically, understanding the causes of grain losses before committing to a final product design.
Listening to farmers before building
Rather than developing a solution in isolation, Abdulroqeeb said his team decided to speak directly with farmers to understand their experiences and ensure that CropVault is built around genuine needs.
“During my physical interviews with farmers, to actually understand their pain before building any solution, I want my solution to be data-driven and built specifically for the consumer’s pain,” he said.
Earlier in the month, Abdulroqeeb and his team conducted research in Tungan Mallam, Niger State, where they spoke with farmers about challenges affecting agricultural production.
The interviews revealed a wider range of problems than the team initially expected.
“I was able to realise many agricultural problems that AI can solve, those that are even outside the scope of what we’re planning at CropVault,” he said.
According to Abdulroqeeb, farmers raised concerns about post-harvest losses, mixed farming, elephant grass and other agricultural challenges.
The findings have already influenced CropVault’s development strategy.
“We had a planned solution before going for the interview with farmers, but speaking with them actually changed the direction of things,” he said.
That change, he added, reinforced the importance of designing agricultural technology around the realities faced by the people expected to use it.
Still at the research stage
CropVault is not yet presenting itself as a finished product.
Abdulroqeeb said the venture is currently refining its solution and working to identify the most effective way to address the root causes of grain post-harvest losses.
“CropVault is currently at the research stage, still trying to figure out what our solution will look like,” he said.
“I am currently working with my team members to provide the best solution for grain post-harvest losses, starting with maize, killing the actual cause of the losses.”
The founder’s openness about the venture’s current stage reflects a growing recognition within Nigeria’s startup ecosystem that understanding the problem can be as important as developing the technology itself.
For Abdulroqeeb, the next step is not immediate large-scale expansion, but validation.
A plan to test with 50 to 100 farmers
Before attempting to scale CropVault, Abdulroqeeb said the team intends to work with between 50 and 100 farmers within a local government area.
The objective will be to test the product, determine whether it addresses the problem effectively and build sufficient trust among early users.
“Before scaling, we would like to onboard 50 to 100 farmers in a local government to use our product, make sure it works by solving the actual problem, and gain their trust to a point that they can refer our products to other farmers before scaling,” he said.
CropVault already has farmers who could potentially test its minimum viable product, according to the founder.
“We already have farmers who can help test and use our MVP, and from there, they will serve as our first customers,” Abdulroqeeb said.
However, he acknowledged that turning the idea into a working product will require two critical resources.
“If we’re to do all these right, we need two things: customers and money to build the solution.”
The infrastructure challenge for agricultural AI
Abdulroqeeb believes government has an important role to play in making it easier for agricultural technology and AI solutions to reach rural communities.
One major issue, he said, is network connectivity.
“I believe the government can help scale agricultural AI in many ways, one of which is working on the network problem in rural areas,” he said.
Some technology solutions require stable connectivity to operate effectively, but farmers in rural communities may not have access to reliable networks.
“Some solutions need good networks to really operate well. Farmers lack this, so startups later resort to building a solution that requires a low-bandwidth network.”
The founder also highlighted what he described as a problem of visibility and neglect among some rural communities.
During his interviews, some farmers told him that they felt forgotten and disconnected from wider development efforts.
“Some of the farmers I interviewed recently mentioned the issue of visibility,” Abdulroqeeb said.
“They are really pained and really happy to see us taking their problem seriously.”
He believes government intervention should therefore extend beyond infrastructure to ensuring that rural communities are included in development and digital transformation programmes.
‘Visibility and education’
Another major challenge is digital literacy.
According to Abdulroqeeb, many of the farmers he interviewed had not previously used digital tools for agricultural activities.
“All the farmers I interviewed haven’t used a digital tool for farming before,” he said.
He argued that simply developing a technological solution will not guarantee adoption if potential users do not understand or trust the technology.
“The government should organise a programme to teach farmers about digital tools,” he said.
“These rural farmers lack the basic knowledge of using digital tools. They find it hard to navigate them, leading to trust issues regarding them.”
The issue of trust, he said, is particularly important.
“If they don’t trust a device, or have someone who can always guide them on it, they won’t buy it.”
For Abdulroqeeb, two priorities stand out: “Visibility and education.”
He also called for greater investment in early-stage startups developing solutions to practical problems.
“The government should also invest in startups, find reasonable startups that are building scalable solutions,” he said.
Such support, he argued, could encourage more young Nigerians to turn ideas into ventures capable of addressing real challenges.
‘Start confused, start worried’
CropVault itself began as an idea Abdulroqeeb had been considering since the previous year.
“Starting CropVault has been in my head since last year, but something just triggered me to start this year even though I didn’t have anything when I started,” he said.
The founder, who is currently a 400-level student, said uncertainty should not prevent young people from beginning.
“I mean, I’m just a 400-level student. But I believe it will get clearer.”
His message to AIBase readers is therefore simple: start.
“Start confused, start worried,” Abdulroqeeb said.
“Bring out that idea in your head, solve the problem, make an impact, and with time you will grow.”
He also urged young people not to wait for the perfect moment, age or level of experience before pursuing their ideas.
“Don’t wait for reaching a certain age to start. That age isn’t coming — you only have now.”
From research to a farmer-tested solution
CropVault remains at an early stage, and the final form of its AI and IoT-powered solution is still being shaped by ongoing research and farmer engagement.
But Abdulwahab Abdulroqeeb’s approach reflects an important principle for technology ventures targeting sectors such as agriculture: technology alone is not the solution unless it addresses a clearly understood problem.
By beginning with interviews and direct engagement with farmers, CropVault is attempting to ensure that its eventual product is informed by the conditions, challenges and needs of the people expected to use it.
The next challenge will be turning that research into a practical product, securing the resources required to build and test it, and demonstrating that the solution can meaningfully reduce grain post-harvest losses.
For Abdulroqeeb, however, the process has already reinforced his belief in starting before everything is fully figured out.
“Start confused, start worried,” he said. “Solve the problem, make an impact, and with time you will grow.”
