In this powerful episode of The Lasgidi Farmer Podcast, we sat with Jacob Oluwayanmife Abiodun, founder and CEO of Coconoto, a trailblazing climate-smart agritech company revolutionizing Nigeria's coconut value chain by turning abundant agricultural waste into sustainable, high-value products.

Nigeria, the world's 19th largest coconut producer with over 270,000 metric tonnes annually (projected to reach 500,000 MT by 2025), wastes around 40% of its harvest while burning shells that pollute the environment and importing $21 million worth of derivatives like cocopeat each year.

Despite a domestic cocopeat market valued at $4.67 million and a global market exploding toward $16.8 billion by 2034, Nigeria captures just 0.11% of that global share, highlighting massive untapped potential for local production, import substitution, job creation, and export growth.

Jacob, a mechanical engineer from Federal University of Technology Akure, shares his inspiring journey: from an unexpected pivot into agriculture, building patented dehusking and deshelling machines, to establishing the Cococycle Hub that processes coconut husks into premium cocopeat (ideal for soilless/hydroponic farming with superior water retention, nutrient release, aeration, drainage, and antimicrobial properties), cocofibre, and upcoming biodegradable Cocopot bioplastics via his innovative "Odd Fusion" process.

The conversation covers Jacob's resilience -bouncing back from the #Fuze Talent Show rejection (viewed as valuable feedback), personal setbacks like an accident, yet scaling production from 20kg to 200kg weekly, stocking over 2 tons of husks, generating more than ₦2 million in revenue, launching the Coconoto marketplace, expanding cocofibre sales, introducing CocoDrinkEat, and growing a vibrant community.

Key highlights include:

• The science and impact of upcycling waste to reduce pollution and empower horticulturists/farmers

• Barriers to a self-sufficient value chain (infrastructure, policy, finance) and untapped opportunities beyond cocopeat (e.g., coir, fertilizers, activated carbon)

• Why building indigenous, scalable tech beats importing equipment for addressing crude methods and enabling exports

• Role of public-private partnerships in stabilizing prices, lowering costs, and benefiting smallholder farmers' livelihoods

• Lessons from global leaders (India, Indonesia, Malaysia) on ecosystem shifts for high-quality, export-ready products

• Coconoto's 5 to 10 year vision: expanding across Africa, penetrating global markets, driving eco-friendly farming, and creating widespread jobs andopportunities

This episode is a must-listen for farmers, agritech entrepreneurs, sustainability advocates, policymakers, and anyone passionate about waste-to-wealth, circular economy, and building Africa's agricultural self-sufficiency.

Tune in now on Spotify. Subscribe to The Lasgidi Farmer Podcast (also on YouTube) for more insights on food, agriculture, and development in Nigeria and beyond!

#CoconutValueChain #WasteToWealth #AgritechNigeria #Cocopeat #SustainableFarming #Coconoto #NigeriaAgriculture #ImportSubstitution #EcoFriendly