The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) has deployed the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in agriculture to enhance bumper harvests as well as contribute to sustainable development goals geared towards ending hunger and promoting sustainable agriculture, among others.
Prof. Chinenye Anyadike, of the Department of Agric. & Bioresources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the Principal Investigator of the project “Using Artificial Intelligence to Enhance the Production, Marketing, and Management of Nsukka Yellow Pepper,” disclosed this in Nsukka during a policy dialogue on the future of agriculture in the country.
Anyadike noted that the aim of deploying AI systems in agriculture is to improve the quality of farm produce, adding that many rural farmers have been trained on how to use the AI system on their crops to dictate diseases, real-time weather updates, and water management, among others.
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The principal officer of the project explained that they are using Nsukka yellow pepper as a pilot crop because of its uniqueness in terms of its yellow color, special aroma, and popular demand locally and internationally.
According to the don, the goal of the project is to draw from the evidence of inclusive and responsible implementation of the AI for agriculture and food system innovation research grant in the Eziani community of Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu State.
“We developed three systems that enhance early disease detection, water management, and e-extension services that support farmers and provide real-time weather updates, as well as a smart greenhouse,” Anyadike said.
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She disclosed that the dialogue was organized by APWEN in partnership with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka researchers, Educare Technologies, Lagos, under the sponsorship of the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.
