Development of a Mobile-Based Agricultural Input Supply Tracker for Smallholder Farmers in Enugu State

Access to agricultural inputs including seeds, fertilisers, herbicides, and farming tools remains a critical constraint for smallholder farmers in Enugu State, where supply chain fragmentation, poor distribution information, and subsidy programme mismanagement frequently result in input scarcity at the farm level. Recent agricultural development frameworks in Nigeria have emphasised the role of digital tools in improving input supply chain transparency and farmer access to government-supported input programmes. This study developed a mobile-based agricultural input supply tracker designed to connect smallholder farmers in Enugu State with verified input suppliers and provide real-time information on input availability, pricing, and government subsidy status. The application was developed using Flutter and Dart for the Android platform, supported by a Firebase backend enabling real-time data updates from registered agricultural dealers and the Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP). Core features included input availability search by product type and location, supplier directory with contact details, input price listings, subsidy programme notifications, and a farmer feedback module for rating supplier reliability. Field pilot testing involving smallholder farmers in Agwu and Nkanu East LGAs confirmed that the application was accessible on basic Android devices, easy to navigate with limited smartphone experience, and effective in surfacing supply information previously unavailable to farmers without market visits. The study concluded that a mobile input supply tracker would meaningfully improve agricultural input access for smallholder farmers in Enugu State and enhance the effectiveness of government input distribution programmes.

Keywords: agricultural inputs, mobile application, smallholder farmers, Enugu State, supply chain