How an Adamawa engineer is powering food security through engineering solutions

By Semen Isaiah Lerum, Adamawa State

Food security is one of the biggest challenges in Nigeria today. Farmers face high costs, climate change, and poor access to modern tools. But local talents are finding solutions. One of them is Engineer Emmanuel Nicolas Goji, an innovator from Adamawa who is using his skills to make farming easier and more productive.

Apart from being an engineer by profession, Emmanuel’s journey to creating farm tools started when he came across a post on social media about farm equipment. He thought to himself:

“If these tools can be made elsewhere, why can’t we also make them here to solve our own farming challenges?”

“Most of these machines are imported from china ,why can’t we build them here?”

That idea stayed with him. During the COVID-19 lockdown, while the world slowed down, Emmanuel got busy. He began welding and designing farm tools right from scratch. What started as an idea turned into useful equipment for local farmers.

Today, Emmanuel’s ideas have grown into real, practical inventions that are changing the way farmers work. He has developed a rice transplanter that makes rice planting faster and less labor-intensive, a fertilizer applicator that helps farmers reduce waste while increasing yields, and a multi-power egg incubator that can hatch more than 700 eggs using AC mains, DC battery, or even LPG gas.

fabricated fertilizer applicator

Fabricated multi-power egg incubator

The incubator, in particular, has been a game-changer for poultry farmers. In a country where power supply is unreliable, its ability to run on different energy sources means farmers can hatch chicks without interruption, cut down losses, and expand their businesses.

Emmanuel’s  innovation caught the attention of the Adamawa State ACReSAL project, With their backing, more than 800 units of the applicator were produced and distributed. Beyond improving crop harvests, the project also created jobs for over 15 young people in welding, fabrication, and sewing.

These solutions highlight that innovation doesn’t always have to come from outside Nigeria. Emmanuel’s tools are designed with local realities in mind, solving real problems in both poultry and crop production. In the process, he is not only helping farmers thrive but also creating opportunities and inspiring young people.