South-West Agricultural Stakeholders Urged to Embrace Technology to Boost Food Production

South-West Agricultural Stakeholders Urged to Embrace Technology to Boost Food Production

Farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector across the South-West have been urged to embrace modern technology, digital innovation and smart agricultural practices to address challenges confronting food production and improve productivity.

They were advised to move beyond conventional farming methods that rely largely on intuition, indigenous knowledge and visual observation of crops to adopt technology-driven approaches for monitoring soil conditions, managing livestock, nurturing seedlings and predicting weather patterns.

The call was made by the Dean, College of Computing Sciences, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Prof. Oluwasefunmi 'Tale Arogundade, during a two-day training and Steering Committee meeting of the South-West Research Extension-Farmers-Input Linkage System (SW-REFILS-IAR&T).

The programme, organised by the Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme (OGADEP) in collaboration with the State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, was held at Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, with the theme: "Strengthening Research Extension, Farmers Input Linkage Through Climate-Smart Agriculture and Digital Innovation for Agro-Industrial Transformation."

Delivering a paper titled, "Smart Intelligent Agricultural Practices: Harnessing Computing Technologies for Enhanced Food and Nutritional Security in Nigeria," Arogundade described agriculture as fundamental to rural livelihoods, employment generation and national economic development.

She, however, noted that despite the availability of vast arable land across the South-West, agricultural production continued to face persistent challenges that required innovative and technology-driven solutions.

According to her, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has identified digitalisation and agricultural automation as important opportunities for improving productivity, resource efficiency and environmental sustainability.

She stressed the need for government to bridge the digital knowledge gap by equipping farmers with relevant technological skills and creating an enabling environment for the adoption of modern agricultural practices.

Arogundade maintained that Nigeria's agricultural sector could experience significant transformation by moving from conventional farming methods to data-driven, predictive and increasingly automated agricultural systems.

She added that smart agricultural practices would improve efficiency, reduce production losses and increase profitability for farmers across different scales of production.

Earlier, the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Bolu Owotomo, described the theme of the programme as timely, noting that the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun remained committed to ensuring food availability and security in the state.

The Commissioner, who was represented by the Director of Planning Research and Statistics, Alhaji Siraj Fashola, said digital innovation had become essential to agricultural development, urging farmers to embrace data-driven approaches to address existing gaps and improve farming operations.

He encouraged universities and research institutions to make their findings accessible to farmers, stressing that collaboration between researchers and agricultural practitioners was necessary for sustainable development.

Owotomo also assured participants that the state government would sustain its support for the training and retraining of agricultural extension officers in modern farming techniques.

He added that the government would continue to provide mobility support for extension workers and facilitate access to land for farmers to enhance agricultural production across the state.

In her welcome address, the Acting Programme Manager of OGADEP, Mrs. Abiola Adewole Sobukola, said the training was designed to strengthen agricultural development across the South-West through improved research, extension services and farmers' access to relevant inputs.

She emphasised that regular research and access to accurate agricultural data were essential to understanding changing market dynamics and improving the value chain.

Sobukola urged farmers to embrace smart digital technologies, noting that their adoption could significantly improve productivity and increase harvest yields.

She disclosed that the Ogun State Government had demonstrated its commitment to agricultural development through the employment of 103 agricultural extension agents to strengthen information dissemination and provide technical support to farmers.

She charged participants to pay close attention to the training and apply the knowledge acquired to improve their understanding of mechanised farming, smart agriculture and modern technological practices.

According to her, the initiative was aimed at strengthening agricultural development across the six South-West states through improved agricultural extension services and effective collaboration among relevant stakeholders.

Also speaking, the South-West Zonal Coordinator of SW-REFILS-IAR&T, Prof. Festus Ajayi, described the initiative as a Federal Government project designed to promote agricultural development and improve agribusiness across the country, particularly in the South-West.

He said achieving sustainable food production in Nigeria required the collective efforts of government, research institutions, farmers, agricultural input providers and other stakeholders.

Ajayi therefore called on governments at all levels and major players in the agricultural sector to strengthen the initiative through adequate technological and financial support.

The programme also featured recognition and outstanding farmer award to the Chief Executive Officer of Young Agro services Limited, Mr. Johnson Ajibola.

Dignitaries at the event included the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Rotimiolu Akinlesi, and the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Mrs. Funmi Baker, among other government officials and agricultural stakeholders.